You Don't Know
by Raedaline
Summary: Thoth begins a lesson on human depression. Yui, angered, stands up and tells the God of Knowledge that he has no idea what the hell he is talking about. This sets off a series of events that will change the realm of the gods forever. (I've never read the manga or played the game.) Alternate Universe.
1. Chapter1:Don't Teach What You Don't Know

Third-person POV

The gods all snapped up their heads and began grinning as the one whose heart they are trying to win over, Kusanagi Yui, entered the classroom.

"Good morning Fairy-san!" exclaimed Apollon as he jumped up from his desk and ran to Yui for his usual routine of hugging her, whether she wanted it or not.

Yui looked up from the floor when she heard Apollon as though she had been pulled out of her thoughts. She smiled in a feeble attempt to put on a brave face for the gods. She woke up that morning feeling emotionally exhausted and she couldn't figure out why. She had to miss her morning run with Takeru because of it.

Dodging his embrace, causing him to flip over Hades's desk knocking his uncle onto the floor, she made her way to her seat without looking at the other gods. They all immediately began to exchange worried glances. This was unusual behavior from her. They had never seen her look so exhausted before. She would walk in and say hi to everyone with a smile that could even outshine Apollon.

Before any of them could say or do anything, Thoth marched into the room with a glance that told them to shut up and sit down. Apollon helped up his uncle and made his way to his seat. Thoth, as usual, slammed his hands on the desk and gave the class a cold glare so he could get their attention and silently warn them to not dare look away.

"Today, we are going to talk about depression in humans." He explained as he turned to the board and started writing down chemical formulas. "It is a chemical imbalance within the brain that causes humans to become sad..."

As Thoth continued to explain how chemicals can affect the moods of humans, the gods kept glancing over at Yui. Her notebook was on her desk and she was staring at her it as though she was writing notes. What concerned the gods was that her pencil hovered over the notebook and slowly began to shake. Balder wanted to check on her, but she was emitting an aura that felt as though she shouldn't be bothered right now.

After a few minutes, Yui's eyes began to move slowly towards the board with hatred beginning to grow in her eyes. When her eyes fully met Thoth's back, she slammed down her hands on her desk and stood up. Mimicking what Thoth does when he wants to get the student's attention.

All eyes turned to her in a shocked state. The only set of eyes that weren't immediately on her were Thoth's. He slowly turned around and gave a menacing scowl to Yui. "Do you have something to say Kusanagi?"

She looked down, her bangs casting a shadow over her eyes. "You have no idea what the hell you are talking about." She murmured through gritted teeth that were loud enough for Thoth to hear.

The classroom remained silent for what felt like an eternity. Thoth was glaring at Yui who dared challenge him on his knowledge. She kept her head down, but the anger and confidence that was radiating off her showed that she was standing her ground.

The gods all switched their gazes between Thoth and Yui. As seconds passed by, the tension in the room made them shiver. Challenging the teacher is one thing, but challenging Thoth, the Egyptian God of Knowledge, was almost heresy in this garden.

"Tch" slurred Thoth as he crossed his arms over his chest while continuing to stare at Yui. "And you assume you know more than I do?"

Yui lifted her gaze with the most challenging and angered expression that has ever been thrown at the God of Knowledge. "You don't know what depression is, Master Thoth." She sneered. "Depression is not a technicality within the human body. Speaking as though it is only a technicality is something that I take great offense to." She paused and saw the gods shocked expressions out of the corner of her eye. Even Loki looked like he wasn't amused by the situation. "I am as much of a teacher as you here when something that related so deeply to the human heart is being taught, I have as much right to interject on misleading information."

The gods turned their faces to Thoth who began to march around his desk towards Yui. Yui began to stand up straight and looked as though she was about to punch him in the face. Before he could reach her, a metallic bang was heard that stopped everyone in their tracks and turn their gazes to the doorway. There stood Zeus with a serious look on his face. "Thoth! That's enough!" he bellowed.

His eyes softened slightly when his gaze met Yui's, "Please Kusanagi Yui, enlighten us. You are the only one here who can explain in more in-depth. Judging by your reaction, I'd say you have the first-hand experience on the subject."

Thoth scowled and began storming towards the doorway to leave. Zeus stopped him before he could get through the threshold. "You will remain here and listen to what she has to say Thoth." He seethed as he took steps towards Thoth to corral him back into the classroom.

"Thank you, Zeus-san." Sighed Yui as she looked out the classroom windows at the beautiful day.

She walked towards the window-sill and placed her hands on it. "Thoth was correct when he said that chemical imbalances are what affect human emotion." She explained while looking out the window not paying attention to the reflections. "But depression is not just a chemical imbalance and should never be written off as just being sad. It's more than that" Her knuckles began to turn white as her hands were balled into fists. "As Zeus-san theorized, I do have first-hand experience in depression." She looked down at her fists and furrowed her brows. The gods could see the reflection of her eyes begin to water. "Depression isn't just sadness. If anything, it's a condition that won't let you be happy. You can still and laugh, but you never feel as though it is making you happy. It doesn't reach you no matter how hard you try sometimes."

Looking into the reflections that were dancing in front of her, she saw the pained look of her divine friends all looking at her with deep concern. She made eye contact with the reflection of Hades which. "Kusanagi, if you don't want to talk about it, we und..."

"No," she sighed cutting Hades off "If telling you about this will help you learn then I will share with you. It's the least that I can do for opening up to me about your lives." She watched him nod and looked down once again at her hands and took a few silent moments to gather herself. She let out a shaky breath to try to calm her racing, aching heart. 'Come on Yui, you know that you are here to help them understand the human heart. Depression is an emotion that can attack the heart and mind. Suck it up and just spit it out already!'

"Kusanagi, what experience do you have with depression?" encouraged Zeus, letting her know that she had to tell them one way or another. There was no room for debate in his commanding tone.

She looked back up at her tearful expression in the window, "There was a time in my life where my depression was so bad that one night I couldn't take it anymore. Depression can cause physical pain. The best way I can describe it... drowning, helpless, useless, unbearable... excruciating even. I had tried all types of medications and therapeutic methods to help me feel better, but nothing ever worked." She shifted her gaze from her reflection to those of the silent gods behind her. Tears began streaming down her face in an unstoppable torrential rain. The gods could see and feel the painful memories within each tear. A few of them had to place their hands over their divine hearts to try and numb the pain they began feeling.

Balder couldn't stand that this was something that someone so dear to him had to go through. He began to stand to comfort her, but Dionysus grabbed his shoulder with an expression that told Balder not to move. Baler hesitated before he sat back down and returned his attention to the emotionally crumbling Yui standing with her back to them. Her shivering form eclipsing the sun creating a heavenly silhouette that took their breath away.

Yui saw the exchange and waited for Zeus to nod to her to continue. His eyes were warm, but his brows were furrowed. Yui nodded back to Zeus and continued, "That night, I was so close to taking my own life that I could feel the prick of the knife on my throat." Yui sighed and stroked the scar on her neck. She slowly turned around in the small puddle that had been created by her memories on the floor. She met the shocked and saddened gazes of all of the gods before she continued. "To be honest with you, I don't fully know why I didn't take my life that night. I did think of my family and how much they wouldn't forgive themselves if I had gone through with it. I admit that even that thought didn't stop me. From time to time I still feel depressed, not as bad as that night, but it's still there lurking in the shadows of almost every waking moment. Sometimes, even my dreams aren't safe from that dreadful beast."

Yui turned her gaze to Thoth and slowly, shakily began to walk towards him till she was standing a few feet in front of him. She locked her eyes onto Thoth's unreadable expression and continued, "Depression is not a technicality. Human emotions are not a technicality. They not only affect the individual, but they affect everyone around them. The person's emotions can become so... overwhelming, that they can cause the sensation of physical pain. Your chest hurts and your head feels as though a dark veil has been draped over you and you can't find a way to lift it. I promise you Thoth, that pain is something that can be felt by others and it's not something that should ever be taken lightly."

Yui stood silently as she turned her gaze to the floor and began to walk out of the classroom. She stopped herself at the threshold by her shaking hand and slightly gazed over her shoulder. "I know that you may see humans as weak and pathetic," she spat out those words as though they were bitter poison, "but know that some of us have to go through so much shit you could never imagine how painful it is. Next time, try and consider the human perspective Thoth; it might help you in the future."

With that final wary sentence, she disappeared around the corner. The divine all sat silently as they listened to her slow, soft footfalls fading away.

Thoth gritted his teeth to try to keep his rage from releasing his godly form. Zeus, seeing his friend physically shake in anger, placed his hand on his shoulder to hold him back while looking at the empty doorway.

Zeus turned his gaze to Thoth, "If you teach anything emotional, please consult Kusanagi Yui before you do. She is the expert on such matters after all." Zeus turned to leave the room. When he reached the threshold, he slightly turned his head back towards Thoth, "I'm sorry old friend, but sometimes knowing about something doesn't mean that you understand it." With that, Zeus left the room and began walking back to his office. A corner of his mouth began to slightly turn upwards as he may be starting to get through the stone heart of his friend. There was a reason why Thoth was chosen to teach the gods. He needed to learn almost as much as they do, and Kusanagi Yui was the one to do it.

Zeus's footsteps faded down the hallway and Thoth stared at the floor, "Class is dismissed for the day." He turned and quickly left the room.

The gods sat there staring at their desks in deep thought. They had never seen her so emotional or melancholy before.

Balder was the first to stand, "I'm going to check to see if she is okay." Balder then quickly walked out the door with a determined look painted on his face. The other gods followed without saying a word to each other.

-x-

They searched for Kusanagi Yui for over an hour when they spotted her sitting in the middle of an open field in the woods. Her legs were extended, and her head was thrown back. The gods could see that her eyes were not focused on their surroundings as they were lost to another world of her own.

Takeru began to take a step forward when a voice that seemed to make the air tremble began to echo through the forest causing him to stop in his tracks. The gods looked around trying to figure out where the voice was coming from when Thor extended his hand towards the field in front of them. Tsukito took a step forward with watery eyes, "I think that's Kusanagi Yui singing." He said in a trembling voice barely louder than a whisper.

('You Don't Know' by Katelyn Tarver)

 **I know you've got the best intentions**

 **Just trying to find the right words to say**

 **I promise I've already learned my lesson**

 **But right now, I want to be not okay**

 **I'm so tired, sitting here waiting**

 **If I hear one more "just be patient"**

 **It's always gonna stay the same**

 **So, let me just give up**

 **So, let me just let go**

 **If this isn't good for me**

 **Well I don't want to know**

 **Let me just stop trying**

 **Let me just stop fighting**

 **I don't want your good advice or reasons why I'm alright**

 **You don't know what it's like**

 **You don't know what it's like**

 **Can't stop these feet from sinking**

 **And it's starting to show on me**

 **You're staring while I'm blinking**

 **But just don't tell me what you see**

 **I'm so over all this bad luck**

 **Hearing one more "keep your head up"**

 **Is it ever gonna change?**

 **So, let me just give up**

 **So, let me just let go**

 **If this isn't good for me, well I don't wanna know**

 **Let me just stop trying**

 **Let me just stop fighting**

 **I don't want your good advice**

 **or reasons why I'm alright**

 **You don't know what it's like**

 **You don't know what it's like**

Yui stood, threw her head back towards the sky, clasped her hands loosely on her stomach, and closed her eyes.

 **Don't look at me like that**

 **Just like you understand**

 **Don't try to pull me back**

 **Let me just give up**

 **Let me just let go**

 **If this isn't good for me**

 **Well I don't wanna know**

 **Let me just stop trying**

 **Let me just stop fighting**

 **I don't want your good advice**

 **or reasons why I'm alright**

 **You don't know what it's like**

 **You don't know what it's like**

 **You don't know**

 **You don't know**

 **You don't know**

 **You don't know what it's like**

 **You don't know what it's like**

 **You don't know**

 **You don't know**

 **You don't know what it's like**

 **You don't know what it's like**

After the echo of her voice had settled through the forest, she lowered her head and smirked. Turning around and looking at the gods, she smiled "I'm sorry about that. I guess I can't hear or think about it without breaking down a little bit. I'm okay though" She happily walked towards them with a skip in her step that they were so used to seeing.

She stopped in front of them and flashed a brilliant smile that reassured them that she was fine. "Thank you for worrying about me. I appreciate it." Her expression softened as she began walking back towards the academy with the gods in tow.

-x-

No one said a word on the way back. Loki had tried to run up to Yui but Thor and Balder grabbed his collar before he could take another step close to her.

When they all made it back to the dorms, they all exchanged good nights and began to go their separate ways. Takeru stopped suddenly causing the other gods to look at him questioningly.

"Hey, weed!" yelled Takeru as he spun around with his hands in his pockets and his gaze plastered to the ground.

Yui turned around to look at him. "Y…. you…should sing more often. It's beautiful." Takeru said as a slight blush began to adorn his cheeks. Yui giggled and waved at everyone before running to the girl's dorm.

-x-

That night, the gods all gathered in their common rooms in silence. All of them thinking about the amount of pain that their dear human had been through. She had been helping them deal with their problems that hers didn't come up. Each one of them felt guilty for that but didn't know what they could have done anyway.

One by one they sauntered off to bed and had worrying nightmares about Yui holding a knife to her throat, extinguishing the life that they all grew to hold dear.

-x-

Yui slammed the door and threw herself onto her bed. Burying her face into the pillow to muffle her cries, Melissa jumped up onto her bed and rubbed her back reassuringly as she cried herself to sleep.

For the first time since she had been brought to the garden, she thought about that night and wondered why she was still alive. For one night, she allowed her mask to slip to reveal what she had hidden underneath for many years. Her mask was something that she held onto and had only let it slip away a handful of times since that night. Melissa did his best to comfort her, but he didn't know what to do. The look in her eyes was something that he had never seen before in a human or a god.

Her dreams were filled with images of her family finding her dead body and watching over her funeral with the muffled cries of her mother echoing through her mind.


	2. Chapter 2: What Don't I Know?

Thoth stormed into the only place in the school where he felt at home; the library. The doors echoing throughout the room were soon accompanied by the echo of his fists meeting the nearest empty table.

Anubis, startled by the thundering clap of anger throughout the normally quiet sanctuary, peered up from his chair into the burning blue eyes of Thoth. The flames that he saw in them made him feel as though Thoth was seething with absolute rage. Whenever Thoth gets this angry, it means that his knowledge has been challenged, which is something you should never do.

Thoth snapped his head up and shot Anubis a glare that made the poor thing shiver. Out of fear for his life, he ran out of the library before Thoth's flaming eyes burned him alive, locking the door behind him to contain the blaze.

Thoth remained there for hours, panting, seething with rage. How **dare** a _human_ interrupt a lesson from the God of Knowledge? Out of everyone in that room, she should be worshiping the fact that she had the privilege to learn from him. His knowledge was power, and that power was something that he had never been tested in such a way until that human stood up earlier that day. The look of defiance in her eyes showed a side of her that he couldn't have even guessed that she contained.

When she challenged him, she had the nerve to compare herself to him as a teacher. _'What the hell did she know that I didn't?'_ He thought to himself. He knew everything there was about the human body, inventions, and history and more than anyone, God or human, could even comprehend. The emotions that she was debating were merely a reaction to chemical and hormonal changes as the body's response.

He has emotions, he just understands that they are illogical and have no place in his world of practicality.

Thoth thought back to her story, her words sounded as though she had rehearsed her story in her head so many times that she was barely listening to what she was saying. She was merely reciting, not clinging to her words like she normally does when she speaks. It then dawned on Thoth, 'she wasn't listening to what she was saying, she was feeling what she was saying.' He had never seen anyone with such... pain in their eyes. Those eyes that were normally filled with happiness or curiosity were replaced by mirrors of painful memories. Memories of death and invisible pain that was shielded from the world behind a masterfully crafted mask that even he couldn't see past or detect.

Thoth shook his head. He always thought that he could read everyone like an open book. He could see what kind of person someone was just by looking in their eyes. Eyes were windows to the soul and to the gods was especially true. To him, her eyes were beacons of happiness and carefree life. Watching her, he always thought that she was the kind of human who had the world laid out at her feet without working or earning it. However, whatever he saw in her eyes earlier was something opposite of that impression. He saw the pain and hard work to get to where she was today.

Thoth heard a slight chuckle behind him. He turned around only to see Zeus standing there with an amused look on his face. "Thoth, judging by your reaction, something is bothering you about that girl."

Thoth glared at Zeus. "What do you want?"

Zeus sighed and took a few steps towards his old friend. "I came to check up on you. I saw Anubis running around in fear and I figured that was because of you."

Thoth turned his gaze to the floor. His fists were clenched at his sides. "Zeus, I don't understand." Grumbled Thoth. Zeus was the only person in all of existence whom he would ever say such a thing.

"What is it you don't understand old friend?"

Thoth's gaze met Zeus's concerned one and he sighed, closing his eyes, "That girl... that human. Normally, I can read anyone like an open book. For some reason, I couldn't see the pain that she was hiding. I couldn't even see past her normal persona. I don't understand how I couldn't read it. No one has ever been able to hide information from me even if it was about past emotions or memories. How can a mere human do such a thing?"

Zeus's gaze softened as he began to understand what was bothering Thoth so much. "You know, I have found that she is immune to Loki's and Balder's power of persuasion. Each of them tried and she isn't affected by them at all. I wonder why that is…"

Thoth's eyes snapped open in shock, "Wait, she is immune to Balder's abilities? That's impossible!"

Zeus nodded. "Indeed, but maybe that was the reason that the sword chose her to help us. The one being in the entire universe who can't be persuaded or changed by our abilities. I wonder…..." Zeus's voice trailed off as he turned around and vanished in a flash of light.

Thoth stood there in amazement. 'No mortal being is immune to the power of the gods. If she is immune, then what does that make her?' He couldn't see anything special about her other than her unusual colored hair. In the few months that she had been here, he had assumed that she artificially changed it, but there was no evidence of any other color.

 _'I need to research more into this.'_ Thought Thoth as he walked among the many books to find out how the human girl could hide from the powers of the gods.


	3. Chapter 3: What Do I Know?

The morning after Yui had revealed her story to the gods, she awoke with a pained sigh as the morning sun hit her eyes. 'Today is going to be shitty.' Thought Yui.

She swung her legs over the side of her bed and stretched when a knock was heard on her door.

 _'And so, it begins.'_

Getting up, Yui quickly grabbed her robe that was draped over a nearby chair before putting it on and strolling over to the door.

When she opened the door to reveal who in the hell was on the other side, she was stunned. She would have thought that Apollon or Balder would be at the door worrying over her confession yesterday. However, it was the one person she never would have thought would ever be knocking at her door.

Thoth stood there in his default stance with his arms crossed over his chest. The look he gave Yui was unreadable.

"Master Thoth! Excuse me, but what are you doing here before class?" _'or before I am dressed for that matter.'_ She silently added to herself.

Thoth sighed, "You could at least invite me in before you start questioning me."

Yui blushed as she took a step back to allow Thoth through before shutting the door behind him.

Before Yui could say anything, Thoth began speaking, "I want you to know that I am furious about how you dared to tell me how I don't know something. However….." Thoth turned around and let his arms fall to his sides. "I forgot that you are indeed another teacher at this school. Albeit a teacher under unconventional means, but a teacher none the less. Next time there is anything in which involves more on human emotions and experiences, I will speak to you first so you don't **dare** interrupt me in class ever again. Understood?"

Yui stood there shocked and her eyes were so wide that she felt like they were to pop out of her skull. She slowly nodded before Thoth swiftly walked passed her and left her to her stunned state.

' _Did Thoth…'_ Yui shook her head. _'Instead of questioning why he of all people would come over to give her an 'almost' apology, I should just accept it.'_ Yui nodded herself determined at her decision.

 _'At least I might be taken seriously now.'_

-x-

When Yui waved goodbye to Melissa and left her dorm room, she was met with the sorrowful expressions of 8 gods. Yui jumped at the unexpected company and placed her hand over her newly quickened heart in an attempt to keep it from leaping out of her chest.

"You guys scared me." Yui gasped. When the gods didn't say anything, Yui was confused about why they were there. "What's wrong with you guys?"

The gods looked at each other before Dionysus stepped up in front of them. "We…. W-we wanted y-you to know that we know that you are here to t-teach us about the human heart…" Yui's eyes widened at hearing the God of Fertility stuttering.

"Fairy…." Chimed in Apollon, after he placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. "We're sorry that you had to relive painful memories." Apollon lowered his head and his lips slightly quivered.

"If you do not want to talk about something, we won't press you….. We understand." Said Hades in the background.

Yui softly smiled at her divine friends. 'At least they're not trying to smother me with sympathy.' She chuckled, "It's okay guys I'll be fine. That was years ago. Thank you for your support though. I appreciate it."

All the gods looked at each other with lightened expressions. Yui could almost physically see the weight being taken off their nervous shoulders.

Loki strolled up and placed an arm around Yui's shoulders, "Let's go to class then Kitten. I can't wait to see a pissed off Thoth." He snickered.

"Yeah weed, that took balls to stand up to a god like him." Added Takeru.

"Totsuka Takeru, Kusanagi Yui doesn't need balls to stand up to Thoth." Said Tsukito.

"Brother…" A sweat-drop began to form on Takeru's temple.

She giggled as they began to make their way to the academy.

-x-

Once they entered the classroom, all the gods gathered around Yui as she sat down at her desk. Yui looked up at them in surprise. "Guys, I said that I was fine. You don't have to worry about me."

"We know that we don't have to worry, but we want to worry about you Kusanagi." Replied Thor.

"Yeah kitten," enthusiastically said Loki placing an arm around Thor's and Balder's shoulders. "There is nothing else better to do than to worry about our human representative."

"Fine, do whatever you want." Sighed Yui.

The Gods nodded and began making their way to their desks, knowing that Thoth was going to walk in pretty soon. Yui noticed that Apollon didn't move and was looking down at his feet.

"What's wrong Apollon?"

The sun god looked up at Yui with a look of deep curiosity and nervousness in his eyes, "Fairy, can I ask you something? About yesterday?"

Yui hesitated before nervously nodding her head.

"That song that we heard you sing, what did it mean? I've never heard a song like that before… It was so... sad. What did the line 'you don't know what it's like' mean? You kept repeating it. It made me feel... I don't know... weird."

Yui froze at Apollon's question. All of the other gods in the room had heard what Apollon said and were all leaning towards them so they could hear her answer.

 _"Oh? What song would that be?"_

Yui and the gods were all startled by the sudden familiar voice of Thoth from the doorway. Yui stared at him wide-eyed.

"Kusanagi sang a lovely song yesterday after class Master Thoth, out in the forest. We went out to find her and heard her singing." Said Dionysus cheerfully.

"Yeah," added Hades, "It was quite a beautiful song."

Loki chimed in while playing with one of his braids. "Tsukito looked like he was about to cry. The guy was practically shaking."

Thoth raised an eyebrow before looking over at the blushing human representative."Oh really? Can I hear this _'song'_ that everyone here seems to enjoy?"

Yui's sweat-dropped at the challenging grin that Thoth had. 'At least he isn't slamming me up against a wall.' She thought to herself. "Well…. U-uh… y-you, see…. I-I…"

"Oh come on Weed what's the matter?" chuckled Takeru.

"Yeah kitten, it was lovely. I am just _dying_ to hear it again." Yui narrowed her eyes at Loki's mocking tone.

Yui sighed in defeat. "Fine…. I guess I can sing it... one more time." All the god's expressions (except Thoth's) lit up at her defeat.

Yui stood up and gracefully made her way to the front of the room. She didn't dare look at the Gods for if she did, she would have lost her nerve. She didn't particularly like performing in front of others. She wasn't the kind of person that wanted a lot of attention. She was more used to being the fly on the wall.

Yui clasped her hands in front of her stomach nervously and closed her eyes. As a distraction, she imagined the accompanying soundtrack to the song and began swaying to the imaginary music. After a few seconds, she opened her mouth and began to sing.

('You Don't Know' by Katelyn Tarver)

 **I know you've got the best intentions**

 **Just trying to find the right words to say**

 **I promise I already learned my lesson**

 **But right now, I want to be not okay**

The words of the song just rolled right off of her tongue and she was in her world. Her heart was singing to the world of what it had gone through in the past.

 **I'm so tired, sitting here waiting**

 **If I hear one more "just be patient"**

 **It's always gonna stay the same**

 **So, let me just give up**

 **So, let me just let go**

 **If this isn't good for me**

 **well I don't wanna know**

 **Let me just stop trying**

 **Let me just stop fighting**

 **I don't want your good advice or reasons why I'm alright**

 **You don't know what it's like**

 **You don't know what it's like**

Yui paused for a few counts in the song and she noticed that not a single sound could be heard from around her. It was so quiet a hair could probably be heard hitting the floor. She pushed that thought out of her head before she lost her nerve and continued.

 **Can't stop these feet from sinking**

 **And it's starting to show on me**

 **You're staring while I'm blinking**

 **But just don't tell me what you see**

 **I'm so over all this bad luck**

 **Hearing one more "keep your head up"**

 **Is it ever gonna change?**

 **So, let me just give up**

 **So, let me just let go**

 **If this isn't good for me, well I don't wanna know**

 **Let me just stop trying**

 **Let me just stop fighting**

 **I don't want your good advice**

 **or reasons why I'm alright**

 **You don't know what it's like**

 **You don't know what it's like**

Yui could feel her hands and body become more animated to the music that only she could hear. She could feel tears begin falling on her face.

 **Don't look at me like that**

 **Just like you understand**

 **Don't try to pull me back**

 **Let me just give up**

 **Let me just let go**

 **If this isn't good for me**

 **Well I don't wanna know**

 **Let me just stop trying**

 **Let me just stop fighting**

 **I don't want your good advice or reasons why I'm alright**

 **You don't know what it's like**

 **You don't know what it's like**

 **You don't know**

 **You don't know**

 **You don't know**

 **You don't know what it's like**

 **You don't know what it's like**

 **You don't know**

 **You don't know**

 **You don't know what it's like**

 **You don't know what it's like**

Once the song was finished, she allowed the echo of her voice to finish carrying itself down the hallway through the open door. This song was her heart's anthem. This song was what allowed her to let go for a little while. She could let loose and let all of those painful emotions show.

Yui lowered her head to show that the song was over and waited for someone to say something. The silence droned on for an uncomfortable amount of time. Nervously Yui opened her reddened eyes and raised her tear-stained cheeks to peek at the silent Gods.

All of them were staring at her as though they were hypnotized. Even Thoth looked as though he was surprised. Finally, the silence broke when Hades got up from his desk and swiftly made his way to Yui before hugging her. "Hades-san?" asked Yui.

Thoth cleared his throat, so Hades would give Yui some space. Hades got the message, took a step back with a blush on his face, and began walking back to his desk.

"Kusanagi Yui, would you mind sharing with the class the meaning of that song?" questioned Thoth. He hadn't moved from leaning in the doorway, but he appeared to have gotten his expressions under control to their normal, serious state.

"Well…. That song is about battling depression when everyone around you is trying to comfort you about it." Explained Yui.

The gods looked at her with confused expressions.

"Why wouldn't you want to be comforted?" Asked Apollon.

Yui tried to elaborate, "Well, a lot of times with depression, humans don't want others to comfort them or tell them that they are fine. There are times when you just don't want to be fine. Pretending that your fine means that you are ignoring your depression and there is nothing wrong. There are days when I didn't want to get out of bed. Other times I would cancel plans with my friends because it's hard to have fun when you don't want to have fun. Instead, I stayed home so I could recognize my depression. To be honest with you all, the number one thing that I hated the most was when people kept telling me I had no reason to be depressed. I had a good life, a good family, and there wasn't much that I had to worry about. Just because someone somewhere has a more difficult life than I could ever comprehend, doesn't mean that I wasn't allowed to have these feelings. Whenever someone tried to convince me that my depression wasn't a 'reasonable' response, I hated myself even worse. I couldn't help feeling the way that I did. When depression hits, you must embrace it. Ignoring it just makes you numb to everything. Feeling happy or finding joy in a sunset becomes more difficult." Yui sighed and looked at Thoth.

"What would you suggest someone do when they see someone with depression?" asked Thoth.

Yui was taken aback by the question. This wasn't something that someone had ever asked her before. Once she regained herself and gathered her thoughts, she answered. "The best thing to do is to listen to someone with depression. Don't press them. Let them know that you are there for them. Make them comfortable with approaching you. Teasing them about it will only make matters worse. In my case, my depression made me self-conscious about everything. If I didn't think that there was a reason why I would be depressed, I would hate myself for feeling anything in the first place." Yui shrugged and made her way back to her seat without a single word from the Gods. Once she sat down, Thoth nodded, made his way to the front of the room and began the day's lessons.

' _I knew this day was going to be shitty. Now the Gods are going to worry even more._ ' Yui sighed at the thought and put her mind into paying attention.

 **Author's Notes**

 _After this chapter, I may stop naming them because I suck at titles. I'm thinking about adding some sort of coupling to this story. If you have a suggestion of why I should pair Yui with I would appreciate the suggestions!_


	4. Chapter 4

Lunch was...awkward to say the least.

Just the week before Yui had finally been able to get the Gods to eat lunch together with her, much to Balder's dismay. Before they were just eating with their respected mythologies. Thoth and Zeus were adamant about getting them to eat together since different mythologies didn't get along. Unfortunately for Yui, she was not only serving as a human representative but as a peacekeeper between them. At first, they would send glares to each other and make passive-aggressive comments throughout lunch, but after she reprimanded them for their behavior and reminded them that they are acting like a bunch of children when they were thousands of years old. After that reminder, they began to get along and avoided arguments. It started to feel like they were a group of longtime friends. The cafeteria was full of laughter. She smiled every time she saw the Gods from different mythologies hanging out with each other outside of class.

Now, they were sitting down not saying a single word to each other. Occasionally, she will feel their pitiful gazes on her but decided to ignore it.

The uncomfortable silence was getting to her and she knew that it was because she was there. She was tempted to speak her mind but didn't feel like bringing it up. _'If they want to talk to me, then they can speak. Not give me pitiful looks.'_ Yui sighed at her thought and began packing up her half-finished lunch. After everything that occurred over the past forty-eight hours, she wasn't very hungry.

As she began to stand, the Gods all looked up at her with worried and sad faces. She didn't make eye-contact with them because she didn't want them to hear their words of pity about her past.

As she turned around the leave the table, she felt a strong grip on her wrist. Looking over, she saw Hades looking up at her with a blush on his face, but a determination was present in his visible eye.

"Hades?" She cocked her head to the side as she waited for the God of the Underworld to answer her.

Hades sighed, "Kusanagi, there is something that we've wanted to talk to you about. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. The last thing that we want is to make you uncomfortable."

Yui's eyes widened as she looked at the other Gods, each had expressions that were practically begging her to listen to what they had to say.

Apollon caught her gaze with large, watery eyes. "Please stay Fairy."

His puppy dog eyes are what made Yui sigh in defeat. She sat down and brought up the back of her hands for her chin to rest on. "I'm listening."

A collective sigh of relief washed over the table.

"Yui-san, we wanted you to know that we are sorry." Balder's head dropped as he stared at his twiddling thumbs on the table. He looked like he was having a hard time deciding what to say next.

Thor picked up after Balder's awkward silence. "We had been so busy dealing with our problems that we didn't take the time and help with your problems."

"Kusanagi Yui, we are all here for you if you need to talk. It is our mission to do what we can for you to make you feel better." Tsukito, as usual, gave Yui a blank expression without a hint of emotion in his voice. She was tempted to giggle but decided that this wasn't the appropriate time.

Apollon reached across the table and gently placed his hand on her arm, "We _hate_ to see you so sad Fairy. You've done so much for us, it's our turn to help you. Please fairy, let us help _you_."

She looked around at all the Gods. Their eyes glowed with their love and admiration for her. At that moment, she knew how truly fortunate she was to help them.

Her face softened, and she allowed a warming smile to appear. "I appreciate it, you guys. What I need you all to understand is that this is not an easy subject for me. What happened that night, will forever be with me. It's a moment of my life that can never be erased and, honestly, I don't want it to be." She folded her hands in her lap and looked down at them. "The way that I have always dealt with my emotions was through my private means. If there is one thing that I hate, it's being a bother to other people. I don't' want to be a bother to all of you. I…."

She was interrupted by Takeru's fist slamming down on the table. He stood up and pointed at her, "Don't you dare think for one second that you are a bother Weed!" Tsukito placed a calming hand on his brother's shoulders. He calmed down enough to sit down and continue, "If anything, it's bothering us that you don't want any help."

She hid her eyes behind the shadow that was cast by her purple. She felt ashamed for not allowing them in. "I'm so s-sorry." They heard her voice begin to quiver and they all shot a glare at Takeru.

"Good job, you made the lovely lady here cry!" Dionysus stood up and began to walk around the table to place a hand on her shoulder.

She reached up and placed her hand on top of his. "No, it's okay Dionysus. I...I needed to hear that" She looked up at him and gave him a reassuring smile. It was obvious to all of them that she was fighting back her tears. She turned back to the other Gods and noticed Balder's glare to Dionysus. She decided to ignore it for now, "You have all so readily opened yourselves up to me and I haven't. I see you all as my friends." She bit her lip. "I'm just scared that if I get myself too attached I won't be able to recover once I am returned to Earth. For all I know, I won't ever see you again and I'll be forced back into my loneliness."

The table was silent. There were tears in her eyes and they didn't know what to say. They knew their time with her was coming to an end, and they hated the thought of being the reason for her unhappiness.

The silence was broken by the sound of her giggling. Loki stood up to see who it was that was laughing during this situation. "What's so funny kitten? Mind letting us in on it?"

She shook her head and wiped a tear that was caught on her lower lashes. "I'm sorry, I just remembered a poem that I heard a long time ago."

"You like poetry weed?" She saw the curiosity swimming in his eyes.

"I've always been interested in more artistic things. Art, music, poetry, theater, I've always had a fascination for them. Why do you ask Takeru?" His curiosity was now making her curious.

"Totsuka Takeru invented poetry." Blatantly stated Tsukito.

Everyone looked at the God of the Sea, "What!?" they all collectively yelled out in disbelief.

Takeru shrugged and looked around at the other Gods, "What? I may be hot-headed but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate the finer things in life. Anyway," he turned his gaze back to Yui. "what poem were you thinking of?"

Yui giggled at the still shocked faces of the Gods, "It's called the _Loneliest Sweet Potato_. It was written by one of my favorite modern poets, Sabrina Benaim."

Takeru smiled and was just about to ask her about it when they heard a loud familiar boom that caused the table to shake. They all looked at the end of the table to see Thoth standing there with a strange expression in his eyes.

"Kusanagi, you will share that poem in class tomorrow! **No exceptions**!" His voice was full of authority. He didn't allow time for her to answer for he spun around and glided quickly out of the cafeteria.

Loki smirked, "Well, I guess we get to hear more Master Kitten in class."

Yui whipped her head around and blushed while shooting the God of Mischief a glare.

 _'Maybe finally being recognized as a teacher here wasn't such a good thing.'_ She thought to herself as all of the Gods began to laugh at the name.


	5. Chapter 5

Thoth had been listening in on his student's lunch hour outside of the cafeteria door. Their table was close enough to the entrance that he could lean up against the wall and hear just about everything that was being said.

He was curious as to how the gods were going to react to her recent revelations to them. Gods are not inwardly emotional like humans are, they generally physically express their emotions. That's the main reason why they were so dangerous to other beings.

Their lunch was pretty silent, and he was about to give up on the idea of listening in on them when he heard the voice of Hades, "Kusanagi, there is something that we've wanted to talk to you about. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. The last thing that we want is to make you uncomfortable."

Thoth leaned up against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. _'This should be interesting.'_

After a few seconds of silence, Apollon's voice that sounded pathetic came out, "Please stay, fairy."

Thoth chuckled to himself. He was always amused by how attached the god of the sun was to the human. The way that he acted, it was the exact opposite of his father.

"I'm listening." Her voice had a slight tint of annoyance and comprehension in it.

"Yui-san, we want you to know that we are sorry."

Thoth was slightly taken aback when Thor began speaking. "We've been so busy dealing with our problems that we didn't take the time and help with your problems."

"Kusanagi Yui, we are all here for you if you need to talk. It is our mission to do what we can for you to make you feel better."

Thoth silently scoffed, _'What is with that boy and missions?'_

His thoughts were interrupted by the pleading voice of Apollon, "We _hate_ to see you so sad Fairy. You've done so much for us, it's our turn to help you. Please fairy, let us help _you_."

 _'I wonder how they plan on accomplishing that. That human is nothing but stubborn.'_

"I appreciate it, you guys. What I need you all to understand is that this is not an easy subject for me. What happened that night, will forever be with me. It's a moment of my life that can never be erased and, honestly, I don't want it to be." Thoth raised his head and looked out across the hall out the window before he heard her continue. "The way that I have always dealt with my emotions was through my private means. If there is one thing that I hate, it's being a bother to other people. I don't' want to be a bother to all of you. I…."

The sudden slam that interrupted Yui startled him to the point where he had to place a hand over his beating heart. _'What the hell do they think they are doing? They're wanted to help her not scare the shit out of her.'_

"Don't you dare think for one second that you are a bother Weed! If anything, it's bothering us that you don't want any help."

 _'Interesting, all of these gods saw humans as a nuisance before they were brought here. It seems that the girl was able to give them a change of heart.'_

"I'm so s-sorry." The pain in Yui's voice pulled on something in his chest. She sounded so small and guilty.

"Good job, you made the lovely lady here cry!" He chuckled to Dionysus's outburst. Out of all the gods, he was the calmest when it came to the emotions of others.

"No, it's okay Dionysus. I needed to hear that. You have all so readily opened yourselves up to me and I haven't. I see you all as my friends. I'm just scared that if I get myself too attached I won't be able to recover once I am returned to Earth. For all I know, I won't ever see you again and I'll be forced back into my loneliness." Her admission puzzled him.

' _A human to be friends with gods and not be afraid of them. On top of that, she seems to have grown emotionally attached to them and them to her.'_

The sound of her bell-like giggles made him question the conversation even more.

"What's so funny kitten? Mind letting us in on it?" Loki sounded oddly sarcastic.

"I'm sorry, I just remembered a poem that I heard a long time ago." A poem eh? _'This girl is more than she seems it appears. What else is she hiding?'_

Once he heard his chance, he stormed in and slammed his hands on their table to get their attention. "Kusanagi, you will share that poem in class tomorrow! No exceptions!"

By the look on her face, he knew that she wasn't going to question him on this. Walking out of the cafeteria, he shoved his hands in his pockets as he made his way back to the library.

 _'There is something about that girl, and I am going to find out what that is.'_

-x-

"You mind if I ask you guys something?" asked Yui as they were all making their way back to their dorms later that day.

"Of course, Fairy!" Apollon skipped forward through the other gods, so he could walk next to Yui.

"Why is it that you guys have trouble understanding human emotions? I mean, you guys have emotions. I don't understand how they are that much different from ours." She was genuinely curious and hoped that they would be able to shed some light on the mystery.

"Let me tell ya kitten!" Loki shoved Apollon, so he could take his place next to her. "Gods are more about action. When we get angry at someone, talking or thinking it over is usually not an option. Steal a god's apple and they will cut your head off." Loki chuckled, and all of the gods nodded in agreement.

Yui felt the blood drain from her face. 'Glad they like me.' She thought to herself as they started to say goodnight and go their separate ways for the night.

She entered her dorm room with a nod to Melissa to let him know she heard his greeting. Putting her bag down and taking off her jacket, she sat down on her neatly made bed (compliments from Melissa) and lost herself to her thoughts. _'I guess it makes sense. From what I know from different mythological stories their actions were always a little over the top. Hmmm... maybe I should look more into them, try and understand them better so I can reach them on their level instead of bringing them down onto mine.'_ She smiled at her sudden genius and hurried to grab her bag and jacket before running out of the door to get what she needed.


	6. Chapter 6

Hades couldn't sleep. He was lying in his bed staring at the ceiling clutching his heart. The full moon was shining through his window. The light that leaked through barely brushed his uncovered feet.

Earlier that day, Yui's voice struck something within him that he didn't understand. Throughout all of the centuries that he has existed, no one has affected him as Yui does.

He could tell that song was important to not only her life but to her heart. When she sang in class, he was drawn into each word that she sang. Her voice shook his very core. He found himself lost in the emotions that she conveyed. Her body swaying to music that none of them could hear, but that could feel it.

When she finished singing and opened her eyes, he saw himself reflected in them. She understood the pain of misfortune. She understood how it felt to be alone in your darkness. Even though her song kept repeating the phrase, 'you don't know what it's like', he knew exactly what it was like.

He rolled over and groaned giving up on his battle with sleep. He put on a shirt and shoes and took a walk into the deep night.

-x-

Yui was having one of her 'cram nights'. There were times where she would stay up for well up into 12 hours and work on something. Even if she was exhausted, once she wanted to get something done, not even exhaustion could pull her away. Tonight, it was a cram night where she decided to research into something that she was interested in. It wasn't for an assignment, it was just one of her recent obsessions.

She sat on her bed with a single lamp lit, surrounded by stacks of books. Balanced on her knee, was an open book. She kept looking over at it and write down something in her notebook.

Melissa peeked out from his house on the table. He groaned as the light hit his face, "Kutanagi, what are you doing? It's one in the morning."

Yui looked up from her work and gave Melissa an apologetic look, "Sorry Melissa, it's just another cram night for me."

He grumbled as he rubbed his button eyes, "The last time that you had a cram session, you hadn't slept for 18 hours." He rested his head on the lip of his opened house. "If I remember correctly, that was when you decided to research into ancient rulers of the Myans."

She smiled, "I've moved on from the Myans since then. This is something that I have been wanting to do for a while but didn't have the urge until earlier today to look into it."

He yawned, "What's your current obsession Kutanagi?"

Yui held up the open book in her lap. Using her finger to save the page that she was on, she lifted the book so Melissa could read the title.

He sighed, "Greek mythology? Really? You literally have four Greek gods sleeping in the next building."

She giggled and put the book down, "I know. I'm not just looking into the Greeks, but I'm also looking into Norse and Japanese Mythologies. I was just wondering what myths were true and which weren't." She ripped a piece of blank paper from her notebook to use as a bookmark. "I was taking notes so I could ask them later."

He nodded, "Do you think it will help you teach them about the human heart?"

She stopped backing her books in a bag and contemplated, "I think it will help me to see how humans perceive the gods across different mythologies." She began packing her bag again, adding in her iPod, small speakers, a blanket, and her notebook. "I'm hoping it'll help me to get them to relate to humans a little more, or at least understand where they are coming from."

He yawned and nodded his head in agreement. "Makes sense. What are you doing by the way?"

She put on her slippers and grabbed a jacket before slinging her backpack on her back, "I want to change venues, that way you can get some sleep and I have a chance to stretch my legs a bit." She grabbed a pillow and hooked it under her arm. She shut off the lights and waved goodbye to her roommate.

After she shut the door, she let out a sigh and stretched out towards the night sky. _'Finally, I can have some time to myself.'_ With that thought, she rushed over to the school to set up her little area. As she stepped inside, it began to rain.

-x-

The weather was perfect, that is until it began pouring down rain.

Hades sighed. _'My misfortune strikes again.'_

He saw that he was near an entrance to the school and decided to take shelter there. He sprinted to the door, only slipping on the wet sidewalk once, and slammed the massive doors shut. He leaned up against the door and wrung out his baggy pants and long heavily drenched hair. After a few minutes, he began to faintly hear something coming from somewhere in the building. Curious as to what it was and deciding he had nothing else better to do, he went and investigated. He wound his way around corridors, up and downstairs, and even found rooms that he didn't even know the school contained trying to find the source of the noise.

He reached the third floor of the building and heard the noise getting louder. Looking down the long, dark hallway, he saw a single door open with light pouring from it.

He approached it and heard music and someone humming along with it. Peeking in the door, he smiled at the sight.

Yui was laying in the middle of the room. She had pushed the desks together so the would create a table for her. She laid out a pillow and a blanket and was using the makeshift table as her bed. On chairs, were stacks of books. On another desk, she had set close-by, was a small device that seemed to be tethered to a box where the music was coming from. She was facing away from him as she laid on her stomach and scribbled down notes in her notebook.

He wanted to leave quietly, leave her to her world, but that idea was thrown out the window as he let out a loud sneeze. The sneeze was so powerful and his shoes were still so slippery that it knocked him back and he fell onto the floor.

Yui turned and saw Hades rubbing his nose and she made her way over to him.

She got up from her desk bed and ran over to him. "Hades! Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just my misfortune."

She helped him to his feet. "What are you doing here Hades?"

He rubbed the back of his head, "Well I couldn't sleep so I decided to take a walk. My misfortune caused rain and I decided to take shelter in the school. That's when I heard music. I followed it to this floor." He paused and looked at her, "What are you doing here?"

She blushed from embarrassment, "Oh…. Uh….." She bit her lip and looked back at her study area. "I…. c-couldn't sleep e-either. I-I figured I could use the t-time and work on s-something that I think will help you g-guys."

He raised an eyebrow, "You decided that you would steal a classroom in the middle of the night to do that?"

She laughed nervously and shrugged, "Melissa couldn't sleep because of me so I decided to make my arrangements for the night."

He nodded, "Ah, I see."

They stood there awkwardly before Hades went over and picked up a book, "What are you working on?"

She ran over and snagged the book away from him. "Nothing!"

He sighed and turned his head to an unopened book. In large letters, he could read, "Greek Mythology".

He turned back to the embarrassed girl who was fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. "Are you interested in Greek Mythology?"

She sighed, defeated and decided to tell him. "I wanted to see how humans saw you guys across different mythologies. I figured if I were to compare that to your side of things I could find a sort of middle ground where gods and humans could relate."

He blinked a few times, "Makes sense." Looking between Yui and her pile of books. "Do you want help? I am the eldest of my family so I could be of some assistance if you would like."

Her eyes widened as he saw excitement wash over her face, "You would do that?"

He blushed, "I'd do anything to help you Yui."

She blushed and nodded.

-x-

For the next hour, Hades and Yui sat atop the desks facing each other. Yui was asking questions and taking notes while Hades patiently answered all of her inquiries.

The music then shifted to a familiar song causing Hades to stop mid-sentence.

Yui looked up curious as to why he stopped, "Hades? Is there something wrong." She followed his gaze over to the speakers as a familiar lyric was being sung over it, _'You don't know what it's like."_

She looked back at him, remembering the events from the day before. "Hades, why did you hug me after I sang this song yesterday."

He stiffened and began blushing. "I-I just thought your s-song was beautiful."

She cocked her head to the side, "Really?"

He nodded and met her gaze with his, "I-I felt like I relate to the lyrics."

She smiled at him, "It's okay Hades if you don't want to talk about it that's fine. I'm here if you need me."

She leaned over and looked at her iPod and sighed, "Well, school is going to start in two hours, I suppose I should start cleaning up."

He snapped out of his embarrassment, "R-right I'll help."

He helped her clean up and returned to his dorm as his nephews woke up. Looking at Apollon, he thought to himself, _'I won't tell him that I spent the night with Yui.'_

-x-

Yui returned to her dorm and got ready. All the while Melissa was scolding her about being gone for so long.

His words were drowned out by her thoughts, _'It would make sense that out of all the Gods, Hades would relate to depression the most.'_ She paused, _'I can't tell if he's depressed or just miserable with his misfortune.'_

"Kutanagi! Are you listening to me!?"

She threw on her school jacket and grabbed her bag, "Of course! Have a good day Melissa!" She ran out the door before he could protest.

She had to prepare to read a poem to the class, _'I still don't understand why Thoth wants me to recite them a poem.'_ She sighed to herself as she caught up to the Gods who were patiently waiting for her.


	7. Chapter 7

Yui wasn't sure how the Gods were going to respond to her poem.

Sure she related to it, but she had a feeling that the Gods were going to take the message differently than she intended…..

She sighed as she saw Thoth enter the room, silencing everyone.

He walked up towards her, "You have the poem Kusanagi?"

She nodded her head shyly and made her way to the front of the room. She had the poem memorized since it was one of her favorites. _'At least I don't have to look at them during this.'_ That thought gave her courage as she turned around to face the class, closed her eyes and started reciting the poem.

(The Loneliest Sweet Potato) By Sabrina Benaim

 _So, I'm at the grocery store because I feel sad._

 _I feel sad because nobody is in love with me._

 _Nobody is in love with me, but everybody loves me._

 _Everybody loves me because I'm good at making people feel good._

 _I'm good at making people feel good because I have had a lot of practice on myself._

 _Practice on myself because I feel sad a lot._

 _I feel sad a lot but when I make people feel good I feel good for a little bit._

 _I feel good for a little bit and then I get lonely._

 _I get lonely and I am uncomfortable in my lonely._

 _In my lonely, at the grocery store,_

 _I practice trying to make myself feel good by pretending I'm a regular person._

 _Buying her groceries._

 _Not a very sad person trying not to cry._

 _Crying gives me a headache._

 _Headaches make me want to crawl into bed_

 _And crawling into bed is what sad people do._

 _What sad people do when they are lonely looks a lot like me at the grocery store._

 _In my lonely, at the grocery store, I feel sad,_

 _But I look like just like everybody else while picking out avocados and lemons._

 _Items that nobody refers to as "comfort food"._

 _Comfort food makes me want to crawl into bed._

 _Crawling into bed reminds me of two things;_

 _I am sad, and I am alone._

 _I am alone at the grocery store moving slow in the condiment aisle._

 _Everybody knows that in the condiment aisle it is perfectly acceptable to stand around for too long._

 _Stand along for too long and I will begin to tap dance._

 _Tap dance lonely in the grocery store is a fantastic name for a book,_

 _I think to myself while waiting in line to reach the cashier._

 _The cashier seems surprised when I ask her how her night is going._

 _Her night is going, "okay" she says._

 _She says nothing else, except cash credit or debit?_

 _She waves goodbye._

 _Goodbye is the saddest word I know._

 _The saddest word you know is my name._

 _My name walks around at the grocery store and feels less sad._

 _Less sad, because at the grocery store at least nobody knows there is nobody in love with me._

A few seconds after she finished, she heard, "Wow."

She opened her eyes, and instead of being met with hypnotized faces, she was met with slightly confused faces.

"Guys?"

Apollon stood up, "But fairy, we all love you."

She smiled sadly at him, "Yes, but loving someone and being in love with someone are two different things. Loving someone is reserved for loving a friend or your family. Being in love is reserved for those who you want to marry. It's….. deeper."

Apollon nodded and sat down, seemingly deep in thought. She looked at the rest of the gods, and they seemed to have the same expression.

She looked over at Thoth and raised an eyebrow.

He sighed and made his way to the front, "You may return to your seat Kusanagi."

She nodded and sent him a thankful look before returning to her seat.

-x-

"Hey, weed!"

Yui turned to see Takeru running towards her. She had just left the cafeteria and she left so she could have some down-time. She stopped and smiled at him, "Hey Takeru! Did you need something?"

He nodded before stopping in front of her, "I just wanted to talk to you about that poem from earlier."

She smiled nervously, "O-oh what did you… think of it?"

He seemed to blush, "I-it was….. good." He avoided her gaze, "I-….. I mean we…. it gave us something to think about."

"Thank you, Takeru. It's one of my favorites."

He cocked his head to the side, "Do you know any more of them?"

She smiled and nodded, "Y-yeah…. do you w-want to see?"

He seemed to hesitate but nodded and followed her to sit underneath a tree.

She pulled out a notebook and handed it to him, "When I first came here, I wrote down all of my favorite poems that I could remember so I wouldn't forget them while I am here." She looked at it knowingly as he took it from her, "They're….. comforting for me."

He took the notebook and shuffled through them.

They sat there in silence as Yui laid her head back and Takeru read the poems in her notebook.

He looked over and saw her relaxed expression and smiled, "I like these Weed."

She looked over at him. "Really?"

"Yeah, they're different from the poems that I am used to that is for sure. I think I like them better though. We had to go into hiding after the humans stopped believing in us so I haven't had a chance to see how these things have developed."

She giggled, "I always seem to forget that you guys only know things from centuries ago."

He smiled and handed back her notebook.

Once she was done putting it back in her bag, she saw the contemplative look on his face, "Takeru?"

His eyes widened as he whipped his head to look at her. He blushed, "I was just thinking back on your poem earlier…."

She blushed, "O-oh." She bit her lip, "W-what about i-it?"

He looked in her eyes and she gasped at the sweet, caring eyes that he held, "You know, we all care very much about you weed. You're….. special... To all of us."

She nodded in agreement and heard the chime of the campus clock tower, "We should get back."

He nodded sadly, "Yeah, whatever." He stalked away with his hands stuffed into his pockets and a blush remained on his face.


	8. Chapter 8

Thoth couldn't put his finger on it. There was something about that girl that he didn't know, and he knew everything!

He huffed in frustration as he thought back on the song that she sang and on the poem that she recited in class. Her words filled the room as though she were reciting some sort of spell. She didn't see their faces during her little 'performances', but if she did she would see that they were all drawn in by her presence. He had met many humans through the centuries, but none had that kind of power over the gods.

She was soft-spoken, but whenever she spoke they all paid attention as though she were authoritative. Everyone knew the moment that she walked into a room even if she made no noise, they would know if it was her. All of them were drawn to her for one reason or another. This academy was full of conflicting personalities by all the gods that were there and she had the same effect on all of them. He knew that she was human, he looked into her family lineage and saw nothing out of the ordinary. He had gone into her dorm room while she was out and gathered DNA from her pillow (much to Melissa's dismay).

That stupid doll was overprotective of her. He had to get Zeus to make sure the doll wouldn't say anything to Yui. He had to satisfy his curiosity about the strange girl. She was nothing that he had ever seen before. No other god held such a presence among-st them before. It wasn't commanding, it was welcoming and trusting. It was something that he would never expect a human to hold. They were all greedy, selfish animals who had turned their backs on the gods long ago.

The girl whose voice seemed to resonate within anybody who hears it. The gods _listened_ to her, a mere human! She was able to accomplish more in a few weeks than Zeus had tried to do for an entire century. He could see why the sword would choose someone like her. It's just he didn't understand how it was possible that a human like her could exist. It's as though, every heart that she touched healed underneath her caring words. A god's broken heart isn't something that could easily be mended, but she managed to mend the broken hearts of the gods that were there. Some hearts, she was in the process of mending, but he could see that she was making progress with them.

He couldn't put his finger on what that girl held, but he was going to keep pressing and studying her until he found out.

-x-

Late in the evening, Yui couldn't sleep. She decided that she would take a walk to a small lake that was nearby the dorms. It would only take her about twenty minutes to walk there and she needed some fresh air.

She had been teaching the gods more about human emotions since they seemed to have a different way of expressing them. Trying to explain that to them was something that she was having trouble with since she didn't fully understand how their emotions were different than hers.

She sighed and rolled out of bed. She opened the window and took a gauge on the temperature outside. It was humid so she decided that her long sleeve shirt and pajama pants weren't going to do her any good.

She went over to her closet, ensuring that she didn't wake up Melissa, and pulled out a thin dress. It was a simple light grey, spaghetti strap, a thin, high-low dress that she found in the bookstore. Since she had arrived at the academy, she didn't have a reason to wear it before. _'What the hell? Might as well. It's not like I won't be able to wear this once I get home.'_ The thought saddened her, but she pushed it back and slipped on the dress.

She wrote a not for Melissa just in case he woke up and she wasn't there and slipped outside into the night.

Walking across the grass, she felt a light breeze lift up the back of her dress as though it were a cape. She decided that she wouldn't bother with shoes so she could feel the silky grass below her feet. She felt truly feminine for the first time since she arrived. She missed this feeling. At home, she loved dressing up and would just put on dresses while she read books just because she felt like it. Sure, here the gods were nice to her, but she didn't feel like a woman.

Lost in her thoughts as she made her way into the nearby woods, she thought back to the night where she almost took her own life.

She couldn't remember what event drove her into the woods in the first place. Something had happened that she blocked out of her mind to drive her into the immense feeling of pain. She didn't know if it was an event or just a single thought, all she remembered was that she was sitting in the middle of the woods on her kneed. She remembers the feeling of the knife trembling in her hands as it lightly pricked her throat. A single stream of blood ran down her neck as tears fell down her face.

The air was cold that night, as though death itself had decided to walk the earth and spread his icy grip through the air. She felt trapped by her own conscious, wanting to take the final plunge but couldn't complete it. She did think of her family and how they would react if she did take her life. That thought alone didn't pull her out of it though. There was one thing that she saw in her mind that she never told anyone. Something that she still remembers vividly.

That one image, along with an onslaught of hope and light allowed her to drop the knife onto the forest floor. That image was burned into her mind and she held onto it. Every-time she felt her mind receding into the darkness, that one thought brought her back towards the light.

She pulled herself out of her thoughts when she saw the blue hue of the lake shimmer through the trees. Walking up to the edge, she sat down on her knees and skimmed the water with her finger. She took a deep breath and leaned over to take a look at herself.

Dark circles were prominent underneath her eyes and the moon shining on her purple hair bore a striking contrast to her cinnamon eyes. She wasn't a vain person, so she didn't look at herself in the mirror very often. Every-time she did, her eyes would find the small scar on her neck where the knife had cut into her slightly. She would forever bare that scar, and now, looking at it in the middle of the night through a lake next to a school for the gods, she smiled at herself as she brought her hand up to touch it.

The image that she found and has held onto was finally right in front of her. The image was of her, smiling down at her reflection as she lightly touching the scar. That one image, spoke volumes to her that night. To her, that image showed her that even though she had tried to do something so horrific to herself, one day there was a chance that she would smile at the memory etched in her skin.

An image like that was strange, she understood that, but at the time she hadn't smiled at anything about herself in a very long time. The smile that she saw within that image, however, was a genuine, comforting smile that she felt she would one day be able to see for herself. Here it was staring back at her showing that she was okay. That night strengthened her and that scar was a testament to that strength.

Ever since that night, her life to others has been nothing but a mask. In front of others, she pretends that nothing is wrong. She puts on a front of happiness that eclipses all of the hurt and pain. She always hated being a burden to others. She had always been the kind of person that did everything she could to help others but hated it when she needed the help of others in her personal life. Getting help with different everyday tasks never bothered her. She wasn't that self-reliant.

However, she hated the mere thought of someone helping her with her emotions. That would defeat all of her hard work in developing her mask in the first place. That particular creation in her life was something that she had always been proud of accomplishing. It was something that she could use so others would not worry about her.

She hates being sad in front of everyone else, but it's nice to pretend and forget that she was for a little while. She knew that the scars of her life would never fade away. They would always be reminders of what she went through and she valued those lessons; even though they were difficult ones to learn. To her, it was better to worry about others than worry about yourself. She had always believed that ever since she was a mere child.

She can remember the day that her mask became necessary. That day, her entire life changed.

Flash-back

 _(Fun fact: This is a true personal story. If anything, I based Yui's personality and luckily, I never got to the point of committing suicide.)_

 _She walked out of the classroom behind the rest of her class like every other day. That particular day, they had to go to art class. It was always a class that she enjoyed. At the time, she figured it was because she just enjoyed the action itself. When she got older, she discovered that it was because it gave her something to focus on instead of focusing on her lack of friends that made her lonely._

 _That particular day, she was not excited to go to the art class. The day before, as happened every previous since she started school, her friend that she made at the beginning of the year had moved away. This was her seventh friend that she had lost in less than a year of their friendship. At this point, she began giving up on the fact that she would never have a best friend. Someone who she could talk to who would just be there for her._

 _Even at that age, she didn't like to make others worry. What she had always wanted, even up to the day where she found herself amongst the gods, was to have someone to listen to her. She didn't need someone to help fix her. She just wanted someone to listen and understand. Little did she know, that a moment was awaiting her within that threshold that she walked in and out of every day that would change her life forever. That one moment was a moment that would require a best friend to get through her next challenge in life._

 _Her teacher turned off the lights as she crossed the threshold, only to be blocked by the school counselor. The look on her face was something that scared her. Her teacher had nodded and stepped aside to allow the councilor into the dark classroom to speak to little Yui._

 _"Ms. Kusanagi, your mother had a stroke and is currently being taken in an ambulance to a larger hospital."_

 _She was silent as she digested the information. As with everything else, she pushed aside her emotions for the moment determined to do what would be required for her. "Okay, who is going to come and pick me up? Do you want me to go sit in the office or are they already here?"_

 _The councilor gave the teacher a flustered surprised look at the child's bluntness in face of the situation. "Yui, nobody is coming to pick you up. All of your family except for your siblings are following the ambulance that is carrying your mother. You need to go back to class."_

 _Yui looked back and forth between the two women, hoping that there was an alternative than continuing as though nothing happened. Realizing that she indeed had to continue, she nodded and slumped her shoulders as she walked down the hall and lined up with the rest of her class against the wall._

 _A girl that sat next to her had noticed her staring at the floor in deep thought. "What's wrong?"_

 _Without looking up at the girl, she shook her head and stared at the patterns in the dark carpet. "My mother just had a stroke and is being taken to a hospital."_

 _"What's a stroke?"_

 _She furrowed her little eyebrows. "I don't know."_

-x-

That day was the start of her mask. She doesn't remember what happened for the rest of the day or how she even got home in the first place. All she remembered was meeting her father at a hospital two hours away from their home giving her and her siblings a speech. "Understand that your mother will never be the same. She won't be able to do everything that she did before. She will become more tired and forgetful than before. We are going to need your help from now on to take care of the house as well as helping your mother. Everything will be fine."

Her father was right, her mother was never the same after that. She became more emotional and forgetful. Even as she got older, her parents never sat them down to explain what a stroke was. They had to figure it out through health classes in later years. She and her siblings accepted the situation. Yui was the one that had always been the most concerned about her mother outwardly. She never complained when asked to do something and did everything she could to avoid making her mother upset.

Over time, she developed a mask that allowed her mother to stay calm and think that her youngest was happy. In reality, she was a lonely child who had no one to talk to. She never allowed anyone to get so close to her that she would share her secrets with. She never had a best friend that stuck around for more than two years.

When the night came when she found herself holding a tip of a knife to her throat, that mask extended to those around her. What happened to her mother and her was something that was deeply etched in her heart. She knew that it would be near impossible to open up to someone enough to share everything with since she never had before.

Her life was her own and her pain was her own. Even though she dreamed of the day meeting someone that she could share everything with, she always held that dream at bay from the forefront of her mind so she wouldn't get hurt.

Now that she was walking late at night while multiple Gods were sleeping in a distant building, she prepared herself for losing more friends. Friends that she would leave the same year that she befriended them.


	9. Chapter 9

"Fairy-san?"

Yui was pulled out her thoughts by the whispering voice of Apollon. She didn't turn to look at him, but she heard him walk towards her and stop behind her. His blonde hair was above her reflection in the lake.

"What are you doing out here so late?"

She sighed and sat back. He sat next to her and waited for her to answer. She wasn't sure of what _he_ was doing out here so late, but she decided that it's his right to do what he wants. "I couldn't sleep. I... needed to think."

He furrowed his brows, "What were you thinking about?"

She looked over into his pleading green eyes. He was so sweet and concerned about her. Ever since she had started teaching them about human emotions, he was the quietest out of all of them. Thor and Tsukito at least asked the occasional question. Apollon, he just sat furthest away from her, seemingly lost in his deep thoughts. It had been over a month since his inhibitor came off.

She didn't want to tell him about what she was _really_ thinking about. It was too personal and she didn't know how he would respond to it. Instead, she settled on a matter that has been in the back of her mind, "I-I was thinking about going back home after all of this. I won't get to see you guys ever again, and... it scares me that this is all a dream." A tear rolled down her cheek.

He was silent as he brought a finger up to catch the tear, "Do you want to go back home Fairy?"

She was taken back by that question, "I-I don't know. I..."

She honestly wasn't sure if she wanted to go back home or not. She had new friendships that she had never had before and she was scared to lose it all. She loved her family dearly and didn't want to abandon them for her selfish desires. She wasn't going to ask them to visit her, that wasn't fair for them. _'Then again, it isn't fair for any of us to become so close and then forced away from each other.'_ She bit her lip at that thought and fought back the tears that threatened to join the lone one.

"Fairy," Apollon twisted his body so he was facing her. He cradled both of her hands in his, "would you want to live... with us if you had the chance?"

She looked at him, her eyes widened, "W-what?"

He looked at her pleadingly waiting for her to answer his question. "I-I don't know Apollon. I am a human. What right do I have to live in the realm of the gods?"

He brought up a hand and cupped her cheek, "You have every right Fairy. You have helped us so much and we are better because of it."

She let out a small laugh, "I've barely done anything Apollon. All I have done is help study, set up events, and say a few words."

He brought up his other hand and cradled her head in between his hands, "Fairy, you have done something that nobody else has been willing to do for us. We have never met anybody like you and I know that when I say we don't want to lose you, that the others would agree as well."

She looked at him questioningly. "I-I don't understand."

His eyes softened and he put his arms back at his sides, "Yui, you're the only person who has ever sat down and actually _listened_ to us. You've been helping us through everything and we are all grateful for it. You... You've saved us Fairy." He searched through her eyes nervously trying to gauge her reaction.

To his surprise, she smiled. Without another word she stood up and looked back at the ethereal lake once more before heading back to her dorm.

-x-

Apollon watched her leave, dumbstruck at her reaction. He was sure that she was going to embarrassed or even cry about what he said. There was something within that smile that puzzled him though. There was a light that shone through her as the corners of her lips turned upward, but her eyes... they were... frozen, un-moving, unrecognizable.

 _'She doesn't believe a word that I said.'_

He looked over at the lake and watched the moon reflect off the surface of the water. He furrowed his brows in determination and ran back to the dorms to wake up the others.

 _'We have to convince her that she is worth it.'_

-x-

Zeus stood at the window and smiled when he saw his son running, a look of determination written all over his face. From the looks of it, it had something to do with Kusanagi. The one human that stood up to him in defense of a god. The human that saved his son. The human whose heart was wound by the thread of fate.

That girl had proven her worth to him many times over. He made his brother accepting of his misfortune, he pulled his son from the darkness and into the light. The human who shattered and picked up the pieces by herself. The human who baffled the God of Knowledge. The human who baffled him.

He saw how the gods interacted with her. He saw how they were all drawn to her. They unconsciously had been guarding her against each other. She was something that they all felt worth protecting. He could even see a change in Thoth whenever she entered a room. That human had been through hell and back, and everyone she met she made sure wouldn't be dragged down into the darkness as she had long ago. She bore her scars like a proud warrior but still held a level of innocence and purity. She was full of strength and she shared that strength every day.

He appreciated everything that she had done for the gods thus-far and accepted her situation. He started to see her not as a human, but as a friend of the gods. She helped him by saving members of his family. She still had Dionysus to work on, but he had full confidence in her. A child of earth had somehow wormed her way into his family and he wasn't even mad about that. He could see that they thrived with her by their side. She wasn't there to take advantage of the powerful beings, she was there to _genuinely_ help them.

He knew that she was meant for so much more. What she was meant for, he wasn't sure. But he'd be damned if he let a rare gem like that go back into the tainted clutches of humanity.


	10. Chapter 10

Apollon burst into the dorm and rushed to wake his brother and uncle up. "Uncle! Dee-Dee! Wake up! We need to help fairy!"

Dionysus woke up with a loud groan, "What the hell are you doing Apollon?" He sat up and rubbed his eyes, an empty goblet fell onto the floor. He looked over at his uncle who appeared to be in a daze as well.

"Get up! I'm going to get the others! We need to help Fairy!" Screamed Apollon as he sprinted out of the room, causing the door to swing from the force of his departure.

Dionysus and Hades looked at each other. "Do you know what this is about nephew?"

Hades sighed and shook his head, "Knowing him, he probably saw Kusanagi frowning and is panicking." They shared a look where they were both contemplating just going back to sleep. He sighed in defeat, "Come on uncle, we might as well see what's wrong with her that's causing him to panic so much."

Hades yawned and nodded. They both walked downstairs into the common area that the greeks shared and waited for Apollon to get back with the others. They didn't bother putting shirts on since they figured that Apollon wasn't a big enough idiot to bring a girl into a men's dorm in the middle of the night.

-x-

About ten minutes later, all of the gods (excluding Thoth, Zeus, and Anubis) were all gathered in the common area. They all looked very angry and annoyed that they were dragged out of bed by an overexcited blonde, but when they heard that Yui needed their help they decided that they would suck it up and follow him.

"Alright A-foolon, what the hell is all of this about?" Groaned Loki. He had his head leaning on Balder's shoulder as though it was a pillow.

Apollon stood at the front of the group and fire of determination sparked behind his eyes, "I found Fairy by the lake tonight and offered her to come with us back to our realms."

They all froze. Takeru charged forward and stood in front of the Greek, "Why in the hell would you do that!"

Tsukito stepped forward and placed a tired hand on his brother's shoulder, "Do you not want Kusanagi Yui to stay in the realm of the gods' brother?"

The blue-haired god blushed, "I-... that's not... I figured that was something that we should have all discussed. Besides,..." he turned back to Apollon, "we don't even know if it would be possible for her to come back with us! You can't go making promises that you don't even know if it's possible to keep!"

Apollon slumped, "I-I know. She just looked so sad and she's important to all of us."

The gods all nodded in agreement. Thor crossed his arms across his bare chest. "What did Kusanagi say?"

They all turned back to Apollon suddenly eager for the outcome. He felt a sweat-drop run down his temple, nervous about their eager stares. "S-she said that she doesn't deserve to be in the realm of the gods. T-that she's barely done anything to warrant such an invitation."

Tension in the air became apparent. Balder clenched his fist and stepped forward, causing a dozing Loki to fall on his cheek. "What!? Yui-san has done everything!"

They all nodded in agreement as Thor helped an annoyed Loki up from the floor.

Apollon furrowed his brows. "I know, that's what I told her. But when she looked at me, I could tell that she didn't believe me." They all grew silent.

"Well, we're just going to have to show her that she is wrong."

They all looked over at Thor. "Kusanagi doesn't think that she is worth it, so we are just going to show her how much she is worth to us."

Dionysus nodded. "That's a good idea, but what if she _can't_ come back with us? Sure, we can show her that she is worthy of living amongst the gods, but what if we have no way of making that a reality?"

Apollon sighed, "I'll go talk to Zeus-san. Maybe he can do something about this."

Hades stood and placed a hand on his shoulder. I'll go with you in the morning. It's too late to disturb him now." He turned and looked at the other gods, "Well? Are we going to do this?"

They all looked at each other unknowingly. Loki chuckled, "What? Are you guys suddenly _afraid_ of doing something nice for kitten?"

They all shot him a glare. Balder sighed. "He's right, this is for Yui-san."

More glances were exchanged around the room before they all nodded in agreement. Apollon smiled and jumped joyfully. "Yeah! Let's start planning on how we can help Fairy in the morning!"

The gods all grumbled in agreement as they gratefully sauntered back to bed. They were all exhausted by the sudden wake-up-call, but none of them could fall asleep. All of them were staring up at their ceilings silently thinking about what Kusanagi Yui meant to them and how they were going to show her worth.

-x-

The next morning, Yui saw the gods acting... weird.

They were avoiding her gazes and seemed nervous whenever she went near them. They were hiding something, she just couldn't figure out what in god's name that could be. _'I hope they don't plan on doing something ridiculous.'_ She groaned and laid her forehead on her desk. _'They're going to pull something out of one of those magazines, I just know it.'_

Lunchtime came and she decided that she didn't want to sit with them within their strange bubble of awkwardness that they seemed to have formed around themselves. "I'm going to the library to study." She waved and smiled at them like she didn't notice anything wrong.

She walked into the library and placed her books on a table while letting out a long sigh. _'At least I can get some studying done while they try and get themselves together.'_

" _Kusanagi!"_

 _'Maybe not...'_

-x-

Thoth walked around a row of bookshelves and saw her begin to settle in into a chair. _'What the hell is she doing here? Doesn't she normally eat with those morons?'_

 _"_ Kusanagi!" He yelled to get her attention.

Weakly, she replied. "Y-yes Master Thoth?"

He crossed his arms across his chest. "What are you doing here?"

She blinked in confusion before answering. "I-I wanted to study. I figured the best place for that would be the library." She smiled lightly. "It's quiet and the others are too scared to come in here."

He raised an eyebrow. "You're not too scared to come in here?"

She laughed. "No, a library is a place of peaceful knowledge. You may be intimidating, but I know that is just who you are."

He stared at her, wide-eyed. After a few seconds, he shook his head to regain his composure. "Whatever. Make sure that you're quiet."

She bowed her head. "Thank you, Master Thoth. I'll be quiet."

 _'That girl is going to be the death of me with her baffling nature.'_ He thought to himself as he stomped over to his desk and picked up a book. It may have seemed as though he was reading, but in actuality, he was watching the human that baffled him to his very core.


	11. Chapter 11

Zeus was awaiting in his throne room as the sun began to shine through the windows behind him. He knew that Apollon wanted to speak with him and he wanted to help them with the human girl.

He clutched his staff causing his knuckles to turn white and closed his eyes, retreating into his thoughts. The solemn god was interrupted by the doors bursting open and the familiar presence of his son and brother entered.

"Zeus!" bellowed Hades. The older god had a feeling that this was going to be a long conversation. He could never ascertain how Zeus viewed the girl. His expressions were so impassive that it was impossible to figure him out.

Zeus sighed and opened his eyes, locking onto the green eyes of his son. "What is it you want Hades, Apollon?"

Apollon let out a long, heavy sigh and strode forward until he was standing in front of the steps leading up to his father, "We want to help Fairy."

Zeus raised an eyebrow, curious as to what they wanted from him. "Oh, in what way does she need assistance?"

Hades narrowed his eyes, _'He's never this quick to gain interest in someone.'_ "It seems that your son has offered Yui to live with us after the year is over."

The room fell silent as the two standing gods waited with abating breath. Zeus closed his eyes and sighed, "What did she say when you offered such a thing?"

Apollon hesitated, wary of whether his father was angry or not, "S-she…" He lowered his head and sadness once again glazed over his eyes causing Zeus to remember that look after he lost Cassandra. "she doesn't think that… she deserves to live with us."

He nodded and stood, "What do you need my son?"

Apollon and Hades exchanged shocked glances before Hades decided to speak, "Y-you want to help her?"

Zeus silently strode over to one of the windows that were behind his throne. He held one arm behind his back and the other still clutching his staff, "That human was able to return my son to me. She was even able to make you look past your misery brother. I can't let someone who has helped my family not feel worthy."

Hades nodded, "Is it possible that she can return with us?"

Zeus sighed and turned back towards his brother, "That decision will be entirely up to her. If she were to choose the path with the gods….." He looked over his shoulder back at the window, gazing solemnly at the rising sun. "she will be sacrificing more than most humans have." He sighed and turned back to his son. "I will allow her to live among us, but first you need to convince her that she indeed has a place alongside us. That girl is meant for great things, I do not want this opportunity to slip past us."

Hades narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by 'opportunity'?"

 _"Surely you've noticed that Kusanagi is far from normal."_

Thoth's unexpected voice echoed throughout the chamber, leaving a stiffness within the air. Apollon looked over at Thoth as he made his way over to Zeus's side, keeping to the shadows. "What do you mean she's far from normal?"

Thoth looked over at Zeus to pass over the question to him. Zeus rolled his eyes at his old friend before answering. "She is a human, born and raised, with a unique…...ability."

Young green eyes began to be coated in confusion, "What ability?"

"Haven't you noticed? She isn't affected by anyone's powers. She isn't drawn to Balder and Loki can't even hypnotize her. Even Hade's misery should have seriously injured her by now." He crossed his arms and leaned back up against the nearest pillar, using his foot to prop himself up slightly. "The one being in the universe who cannot be affected but can affect everyone that she comes in contact with."

Hade's eyes widened, and his eyes shot towards his brother. "Zeus, you don't think that….."

He walked down the stairs and stood in front of his brother, letting his imposing aura encircle everyone in the room. "Kusanagi is the person that we have been waiting for since the beginning of the Titanomachy. I don't need to remind you all of how much this girl will be needed in the future."

Hades furrowed his eyebrows and nodded, "I understand. Without her… we lose everything."

Zeus nodded gravely and walked back to his throne and sat down, his golden eyes burrowed into his son's green eyes. "Make her see how truly she is needed. She cannot be guilt-ed into this decision. She must want to go on her own accord. She must be willing to choose a path that will lead her towards many trials in the future." He leaned forward slightly. "She must understand that she is more than worthy to be amongst the gods. If anything, we aren't worthy to live alongside her."

The two gods nodded, a new fire of determination lit within their chests. They knew what her decision meant in the grand scheme of everything. Her decision will shape the future and either leave in her wake destruction or rebirth. The two bowed and ran out of the chamber, the doors automatically slammed behind them.

As the echo dissipated across the stone walls, Zeus closed his eyes and leaned back. "Thoth," The Egyptian god slightly raised his chin from his chest and looked over at Zeus. "I understand."

They exchanged cold expressions that seemed to cause the air to freeze it their wake. Nodding to one another, Thoth quickly walked out of the room and left Zeus by himself once again.

-x-

Walking down the hallway away from the throne room, Thoth was thinking about how one mere human could decide the entire future of both humans and gods.

 _'She better listen to those damn idiots. She is the one thing that we desperately need if we want the gods to continue existing without human interference.'_

He stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned his head towards the window, watching the last remnants of the hidden areas of the sun appear above the horizon. _'I'm going to have to make sure those idiots don't fuck this up. Here I thought I was just going to be here to teach, but now I am here to make sure that a few young idiots don't destroy our chance at a peaceful future.'_


	12. Chapter 12

The morning after Yui talked to Apollon, she decided that she was going to spend the day in the library. They didn't have a class that day (Thoth randomly canceled class with no explanation from time-to-time, but she wasn't complaining). After she left Apollon, she saw something in his eyes that gave her the impression that he was planning something. Whenever the Gods planned something, she never complained. She didn't often correct them because of their excited faces and she didn't want to ruin it for them.

She sighed and shook her head as she reached the library doors. _'Whatever he's planning, I hope it won't be from those stupid magazines that Loki keeps giving them.'_

Taking a deep breath to clear her head, she opened the doors and peeked into the library timidly. What she had told Thoth was true; she wasn't afraid of him, but she still didn't want to be slammed up against a wall all of the time and be yelled at about how incompetent humans are. Seeing no-one, she smiled and quietly made her way over to the nearest table.

She opened her bag and took out her notebook and iPod before plugging in her headphones and sitting down. She stretched out her neck as she opened up her mythology books and researched more into the Gods.

-x-

Yui had been reading in the library for only about twenty minutes before Thoth marked his entrance with a booming slam of the library doors that echoed throughout the massive room before dissipating.

Not looking up, she sighed and rested her cheek in her hand and turning the page. She knew that if she didn't look at him, he was less likely to bug her. On this particular morning, however, she would have no chance of avoiding him.

"Kusanagi!"

She turned her head and calmly looked at Thoth, showing him that she wasn't startled. "Yes, Thoth?"

He strolled over to her table and leaned down, bracing his arms on top of the table and looked at what she was reading. He lifted an eyebrow and looked at her curiously.

She giggled at his expression which gave her a glare from Thoth. "Good morning. I was just researching more about the Gods for anything that could help me teach them better."

He stood up straight and crossed his arms across his chest. "Why don't you just ask the Gods that are already here?"

She smiled and looked back down at her mythology book, running her hand over the page like it was a precious artifact. "Reading about it gives me a more human perspective since their stories are how humans were taught about them in the first place. I already had the chance to ask Hades a few questions and I decided to look back at it."

He lifted an eyebrow and sighed. He pulled out the chair across from Yui and sat down, keeping his arms folded across his chest. His piercing Lapis colored eyes studied her as she started reading again.

They sat there in silence; him staring at her in silence, and her reading through the pages of her book. After a while, she forgot that he was there. Her mind wandered into the world of gods and heroes. Each overcoming a trial of their very own. She looked up and stared out the windows and smirked.

"What are you smiling at Kusanagi?"

She quickly turned her head towards Thoth, remembering her silent companion. She blushed and looked down, resting her hands on her knees. "I... umm."

Yui peaked at him and bit her lip. _'Should I ask him about it? I mean, he_ is _the God of Knowledge after all.'_

He leaned forward and laid his crossed arms on the table, waiting for her to speak.

She sighed to herself. _'Fuck it. Might as well.'_

She closed her book and smoothed her hand across the hardcover of the book. "Thoth, would you mind if I talked to you about something?"

He nodded and motioned for her to continue.

"Ever since I have been thinking about ever since I started researching more about the Gods. Understand that I am not trying to be offensive in any way and if you want me to not mention it ever again I won't." She looked at him hesitantly.

He nodded and leaned back. He crossed his legs. "Go ahead Kusanagi."

"Thank you, Thoth." She looked back down at her book and furrowed her brows. "You see, on Earth, we are taught that humans created the stories of the Gods. The way that the Gods were written about and told made it seem as though humans created the Gods in their own flawed image. Over time, these stories have been passed down to teach lessons and easily share things across different cultures. This is especially taught when it comes to the Greek and Norse Gods. Looking more in-depth to these stores, I can't help but agree."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

She looked up at him. "Well, I can't help feeling that the stories about the Gods are very…. human-like. The way that their stories are laid out is very similar to stories about humans. I-I don't know. It's just… strange to see those similarities. Especially now that I have met the real-life Gods from these stores. The Gods here were brought here to learn about the human heart, but through these stories, they already seem closely relate-able to humans." She cocked her head and rested her cheek in her hand again. "What do you think Thoth?"

He turned his head and appeared to be in deep thought. After a few moments, he looked back at her and adjusted his monocle. "How do you think Gods are relate-able to humans? I can see it in physical terms. Gods and humans look about the same with only a few differences. I'm assuming that you are talking about their mannerisms though?"

She nodded. "Well… the way that the Gods act, both the real-life ones and the ones in stories, act a lot like humans do in stories and real life. To me, the only real difference between us is our lifespans and the power that you contain on top of the slight physical differences. If a human were given the types of abilities that Gods have, I can see them responding to these same situations as the Gods did in the stories." She shook her head and grinned. "Then again, these stories may not be accurate in the first place. For all I know, they were written in a way for humans to understand the situation better instead of how the event in the story _actually_ unfolded."

He nodded in agreement and looked out the window. "Well, I can tell you that the stories on Earth are mostly accurate. A minor detail or two may have been changed to make the story more…." He glimpsed at her in the corner of his eye before turning his gaze back to the window. "appealing to humans."

Thoth placed a hand under his chin and rubbed it thoughtfully. "I never thought of the possibility of a comparison between our two species because I don't have the human perspective as you have. It's….. something to think about."

Without looking back at her, he got up and walked towards his desk seeming to be lost deep in thought. Before he rounded the corner of a massive bookshelf, he looked back at Yui who was looking back at him. He narrowed his eyes as their gazes met. "Hmmm… your revelations today have explained why you are not terrified like any other human would be. I would like to continue this discussion at a later time Kusanagi. You've given me something to…. think about" With that, he disappeared around the corner leaving behind a thoughtful Yui.

Author's Notes

 _I live in America, I do not know about other countries, but in the U.S. we study mythology. Adding this conversation will allow me to allow more depth into my story. Don't worry, there is more to come!_

-Raedaline


	13. Chapter 13

_This chapter takes place the night before Apollon & Hades spoke to Zeus. Just saying, I did my research. If it's incorrect, Blame Wikipedia. _

Thoth was so frustrated with himself that he almost let his cool exterior slip to make way for a low growl. _'Why can't I figure this out?'_ He was sitting at his desk in the library with the setting sun shining through the windows. He pulled together three other tables in the library and pushed them up against his desk so he had more room to work. The makeshift surface was covered in old documents and books. In front of Thoth, was a yellow notepad full of notes and theories about the purple-headed girl. For the past few hours, he had been pacing around the desk searching through everything that he could think of.

For a fleeting moment, he considered contacting Omokane, the Japanese God of Wisdom and Intelligence. He shook his head at the thought. _'No, I will not lower myself to ask help from my counterpart from another mythology.'_ Out of all of the Gods of Knowledge, he was one of the oldest among them. (May not be true but I am saying it is anyway)

 _'There has to be something that I am missing!'_ He slammed his fist on the table, causing all of the books to slightly bounce off of the concealed wood. One book was already teetering on the edge due to a lack of space, causing it to fall on the floor.

Thoth looked up from the table and picked up the fallen book. Looking at the title, an image immediately popped into his head. _'She was studying the Greek Gods. Why was she so intent on studying that mythology while she had two others to look into? I haven't seen her with any research material about the Norse or Japanese mythologies.'_ Quickly skimming through the book, he found a page that had a flimsy paper bookmark left in it. _'She must have left this in here when she returned it.'_ Looking at the page, he found himself staring at the image of Zeus and his siblings fighting the Titans. _'The Titanomachy.'_

He wasn't there personally to witness such a divine battle, but he had heard stories. A mighty war between divine beings. Children going against their father for his cruel treatment of his children. Cronus ate his children as they were born in fear of his rule coming to an end. Zeus, being the only sibling to be saved from such a fate by his mother, was able to free his siblings and wage war against the Titans. In the end, the Olympians won over the Titans.

In the human world, few documents referred to Titanomachy and all of them left out an important part; The Guardian.

When Zeus began to form his plans to release his siblings from Cronus's stomach, he had heard from his foster mother, Amalthea, that a being known as The Guardian will appear when the fate of the divine and mortal realms was gravely uncertain. The Guardian will lead those within the realm of the divine to peacefully decide to avoid a battle for the heavens. At the time, Zeus thought Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, would be the being who would serve this role. She was always a peaceful being ever since she rose from the coast off of Cythera. He went to Aphrodite and convinced her to help him try to convince Cronus to release the other Olympians. However, when she tried to peacefully speak to the mighty Titan, he chased her out the moment he saw her; leaving Zeus with no choice but to forcefully free his siblings from his father's stomach.

 _'The Guardian.'_ Thoth pondered the existence of such a being for a long time and determined that the only time she would appear would have been during the Titanomachy. Even all his counterparts from other mythologies had surmised this theory. It was a common consensus among the Gods that The Guardian was nothing more than a fever dream.

" _Have you figured it out yet?_ "

Thoth spun around quickly to see Zeus smirking at his startled reaction to his voice. He narrowed his eyes at the Greek God. "What are you talking about Zeus?"

Zeus chuckled and walked over to stand in front of the flustered Egyptian God. "Come on old friend, I thought surely you would figure it out by now."

Thoth ground his teeth together and spat out, "Stop playing games with me Zeus and tell me what it is I am supposed to figure out?"

Zeus smiled and tapped the end of his staff on his shoulder. "Do you remember why we created this school?"

He raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Of course, to prevent a war between humans and Gods by teaching the most troublesome Gods about the human heart."

Zeus nodded and walked towards the window, watching the last glimmer of light slipped past the horizon. "To teach the Gods about the human heart was merely a backup plan if my suspicions were not correct."

He walked over and joined Zeus looking out the window, allowing silence to settle between them before Thoth spoke again. "What are you suspicious of Zeus?"

Looking over, he saw a faint smile come across Zeus's face. "I believe that The Guardian was meant for the inevitable war between humans and Gods."

Thoth turned to God turned Headmaster. "You know who The Guardian is?"

Zeus nodded without looking over at his friend. "I believe that The Guardian was brought here by the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds."

He drew in a deep breath and felt his eyes widen on their own. "You think Kusanagi is the Guardian?"

Zeus nodded and turned to face him, a grave look painted across his features. "A war with the humans would be even more dangerous than what it was with the Titans. Kusanagi has shown that she posses everything that someone named The Guardian should contain. She doesn't judge or hold any biases. She doesn't allow her problems to bother those around her. Everyone around her listens to what she says and absorbs that information. I'm sure you have noticed this, but she also shares the same name with the sword that brought her here in the first place, one of the Three Imperial Regalia of Japan."

Thoth furrowed his brows and looked away. "Yes, I did realize that. It was one of the first things that I looked into." Thoth paused and looked back at the powerful God. "You really believe that Kusanagi Yui is the legendary Guardian?"

Zeus nodded and turned to leave. "Even if she isn't Thoth, I would rather not risk it to allow the possibility of her existence to slip through my fingers." Zeus continued walking and paused after opening the door. "I know it's hard to believe that a mere mortal could be The Guardian, but we can't allow our biases towards them to shroud our judgment. The Guardian is someone who wouldn't allow biases to cloud their judgment. We should follow that example." Without another word, Zeus exited the library, leaving a thoughtful Thoth alone, once again, in his sanctuary of knowledge.


	14. Chapter 14

When lunchtime finally arrived, Yui eagerly packed up her stuff to escape the strange glances that she kept getting from the gods throughout the class. It was getting so ridiculous to the point that the usually indifferent Thoth was giving her strange glances whenever he faced the class. It was creeping her out!

Determined to find a moment of peace, she ran out of the classroom clutching her poorly packed bag to her chest. Making her way outside, she wove in and out of the phantom students not daring to look at anyone. Once outside, she found a suitable distant tree and quickly sat down underneath its' green canopy. She leaned her head back against the rough bark and she felt her hair snag onto it. She let out a sigh, accepting the inevitable tangled chaos she would have to fix later.

 _'What the hell is going on with everyone?'_ She thought to herself. _'It's as though they are anxious about something. Dammit! This is even worse than when they found out about my depression! It's as though there is something they are uncertain about...'_ Her eyes widened and slowly closed as she released a loud groan. _'Kami, I hope they aren't thinking about that poem!'_

 _"Thud, thud. Thud, thud."_

Yui was pulled out of her thoughts by the strange noise accompanied by a small vibration through the tree behind her. When she looked up, she saw Loki reclining on a large branch, swinging his leg lazily and kicking the trunk. His other leg was being used to pop up his arm that was wielding a lollipop.

She let out an intentionally loud sigh in which her intended target heard. He swung himself over the branch and hung upside down looking at her. One of his long braids was hanging dangerously close to her. She had to fight the temptation to use it to pull him out of the tree.

"Hey Kitten! Is there something that I can do for you?"

The human representative continued sending him silent death threats through her eyes before she sighed and leaned her head back with her eyes closed. "Go away Loki. I want to be alone right now."

She could feel him roll his eyes at her before he dropped down from his perch and crouched next to her. "What's up with you lately Kitten? You've been acting weird."

She shot up and glared at him. "Me?! _I'm_ acting weird? I'm not the one that keeps staring during class and avoiding me like the plague!"

He chuckled and flipped his braid over his shoulder. "I have no idea what you are talking about Kitten."

She shook her head and stood up. "It doesn't matter Loki. I want to be left alone and you're obviously not going to be the one to leave."

She turned, prepared to stalk off when she felt him grab her wrist. Turning around, she looked down at him unable to see his eyes behind his bangs. She tried to yank her wrist out of his grasp but found that he was holding her too tightly. "Loki." She received no response. "LOKI!"

Slowly, he looked up and gave her another one of the strange glances that she had been subjected to earlier that day. "Kitten... I..." She raised a brow at him. "I know you want to be alone. But please... just... stay for a minute." Maintaining a suspicious look on her face, she sat down next to him. He never let go of her wrist, but she felt his hold loosen.

"What is it Loki?" She could see the hesitation in his eyes and it was making her nervous.

"A-Apollon... he told us."

He stared at her, pleading with his eyes for her to understand what he was trying to say. After a few moments of deep contemplation, her eyes widened and she gasped. Her eyes narrowed, silently demanding him to reveal what Apollon had told them.

He sighed and looked away from her. "I... w-we don't want to lose you Yui. Please... just, live with us." His pleading eyes threw her off for it was something that she thought she would never see in the god of mischief's eyes.

"L-Loki I... I don't know. My... my family... I'm only... human. _I'm nothing._ " Her choked out sentence ending in nothing more than a pleading, pained whisper. The red-headed god looked at her with respect.

"Kitten,... you're everything to us. Especially to Balder, Takeru, and Apollon. They... we need you."

She could tell that he was struggling with his emotions and hated that he was appearing weak in front of her. She knew how hard it was for him to talk to her like that and it made her appreciate his friendship even more. Tears began brimming in the corners of her eyes. She bit her bottom lip to stop it from trembling.

Slowly, Loki moved towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort. It was an action that he was clearly uncomfortable with, but he forced himself to do it anyway.

Feeling a newfound, comforting weight on her shoulder she slowly stopped trembling and took deep breaths to calm herself. Catching on to her uncertainty, he withdrew his hand and stood up. "You don't have to give us an answer now Kitten. We all know how stubborn you are. This is something that you will need time with. Just know, we will respect any decision that you make." He turned around and squared his shoulders. "We owe you that much." With that being said, he walked away, leaving a confused human girl on the ground.

-x-

Once she was able to get a hold of herself, she realized that she needed to get back to class. She gathered her stuff and made her way back to the building for the afternoon lessons. Her thoughts were filled with Loki's strange behavior. The god of mischief was practically begging her to say yes!

Shaking her head, she put on her mask and entered the classroom. She didn't dare look at anyone as she contemplated the possibility of living amongst the gods. _'Could I sacrifice a life with my family for people that I have only known for a few months?'_ She didn't know the answer, but she had a feeling that the next few days will force her to make a decision.

Author's Notes

 _Hey everyone! I wanted to let you know that there are a few chapters that I plan on going back and rewriting before I continue this story. I have an issue with the pacing of the story and I want to fix that before anything else. There is a chance that some chapters will be split, but no major plot points will be changed. This is a story that came to me in a dream (cliche, I know) and I can't get it out of my head. At the moment, the story is just not flowing like the way I want it to be. Again, if you have any suggestions for what you want to see like interactions, scenes, conversations, etc. let me know! I read every single review that is left on all of my stories! I hope that you are enjoying the story so far. Happy reading!_

 _-Raedaline._


	15. Chapter 15

"Kutanagi! How was school today?"

Yui smiled at her little stuffed roommate as he welcomed her with a plate of cookies. How he was able to make them was a mystery to her but, she didn't ask for fear of offending him. "It was okay. The Gods are finally back to a little bit of normalcy around me."

She bent down and grabbed the tray of cookies and sat down at the little table that was up against the wall.

It had been a week since she had her strange encounter with Loki and ever since the Gods had slowly stopped staring at her so much. She could still feel that they were a little uncomfortable from time to time, but she did her best to ignore it.

A knock on the door interrupted her mid-bite. Melissa held up his arm to stop her from getting the door and made his way over. Using a rope that Yui had tied to the doorknob for Melissa, he opened the door to reveal an unlikely visitor.

Yui's eyes widened in shock. Taking the half-eaten cookie, she placed it on a napkin on the table and brushed the crumbs off of her hands and bowed. "Welcome Zeus-san. I wasn't expecting to have company today to excuse the mess." Sheepishly she gestured to the books that littered the floor and the small pile of cookie crumbs at her feet.

He shook his head and waved a hand in dismissal. "It's fine Kusanagi. I just wanted to speak to you where nobody could overhear." He shot a look at Melissa. "I expect that what is discussed in this room is never revealed. This stays between the three of us."

Yui and Melissa nodded and bowed. "Yes, Zeus-san."

He smiled at them and gestured Yui to sit down at the table as he traversed the maze of books to sit on her bed. He placed his staff across his lap and waited for Melissa to close the door.

"Tell me Kusanagi, how do you think that the Gods are progressing?"

She furrowed her brows and crossed her legs. "Well, the progress has been a little slowed by their concern for me, but it appears things are starting to go back to normal. I can tell that they are still bothered by everything but they are doing their best to hide it."

Zeus nodded and crossed his arms. "Don't blame yourself on their distraction. I am glad that they are learning to concern themselves with a human. They are here because they always had trouble with humanity." He looked around at all of the books that surrounded him. "Why do you have so many books?"

She bent over to try to hide her rising blush and picked a book that was open underneath the table. "I've been doing research so I can get some idea of how they are at least perceived by humans. I am hoping that this will allow me to relate to them a little better."

Zeus nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "That is not a bad idea Kusanagi. I appreciate all of your efforts in this matter. I know that you were forced into this situation but I am grateful for your diligent efforts."

Yui narrowed her eyes slightly and placed the book on the table. "Tell me, why are you here Zeus-san? I doubt that you would come all this way to talk about the progress of the Gods. You have never had a problem before discussing this in your throne room."

He chuckled. "How observant of you Kusanagi." He furrowed his brows and leaned forward, using his hands to support his chin. "Indeed, I am not here to discuss the progress of the Gods."

She crossed her arms and sat back. "Then why are you here?"

"I am here to discuss with you Apollon's offer."

Her eyes widened and she felt herself lightly shake. Her lips quivered and she had to hold up her hand to her mouth to keep them still.

"Kusanagi, I wanted to assure you that I approve of his offer. If you choose to do so, you may live amongst the Gods. From what I have seen so far, the other Gods would gain much from your presence in our realm. I have full confidence in you that you will complete your task before the year is up. You are an extraordinary human Kusanagi, and I do not say that lightly." He lowered his hands from his face and sat back. She noticed how his hands returned to his staff only to grip it a little tighter than he was before. He almost looked... tense.

She shook her head and buried her face in her hands, shrouding her world into darkness. "Why?" She pleaded. "Why would you offer me such a thing? I'm a HUMAN Zeus. How can I live with Gods? How could I _possibly_ be welcome into a realm that I don't belong?"

She heard him stand and make his way over to her. A slight pressure on her shoulder alerted her to how close he had gotten. "I assure you Kusanagi, you would be more than welcome in our realm. You are a human yes, but you are a human who has proved herself more than worthy to live in the divine realm."

She heard him place his staff on the table before feeling pressure on her other shoulder. "I know that you are worried and I can sense how scared you are. Understand that this is _your_ choice. I will let the others know so you won't feel pressured to agree. This is not a small decision Kusanagi and I will not tolerate anyone who will try to convince you one way or the other."

She slid her hands down to allow light back into her vision. "I... I just don't know Zeus-san. I have so many questions and I..." She looked up at him with teary eyes. "I'm torn." She averted her gaze and bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears of her confusion.

Zeus was silent for a few moments before he gave her a sort of tether to some semblance of answers."Melissa is here to help you through this decision. Since he is the closest thing to a human here and he has been to the realm of the Gods, he will help you understand what this option involves. You are an extraordinary human and I can sense you were destined for great things."

He took his hand to cradle her chin and used it to gently lift her gaze to him. His eyes were soft, almost pleading within their emerald depths. "Don't think about how others would react to your decision. Think about what _you_ want. This is your life and you must do what you think is best for it. Just as you are here to help the Gods, the Gods are here to help you. You have earned all of our respect and will accept whatever decision you make." He stood up and crossed over to the door. He opened it and stopped within the threshold. "I must know your decision before graduation. That should give you plenty of time to think this through. No matter what you decide, your purpose here does not change."

With that, he shut the door as he exited. Leaving behind a stunned teary-eyed human in his wake.

Author's Notes:

 _Hey guys! I went back and rewrote a few things and added something to the story. I didn't change as much as I thought that I would and I think that I am happy with the story up to this point. Even though the pacing is still a bit fast, I can deal with it. I also fixed some grammatical errors. I want to add a couple to this story so leave your suggestions in a review or send me a personal message._

 _-Raedaline_


	16. Chapter 16

Yui stared at the door that Zeus just closed behind himself. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes and she felt as though she was torn in two.

"Kutanagi?" Melissa gently prodded. Receiving no answer from her, he slowly walked over to her and tugged on her suck with his stubby arm.

She jumped and looked down at the worried gaze of Melissa. She smiled and gently picked him up before placing him in her lap. She held onto him as though he were her favorite teddy bear that she used to talk to as a child when she felt lonely. Melissa was a little annoyed at this, but he understood that she needed comfort on her terms and he was willing to do that for her.

She shakily petted his head as a tear slid down her cheek. "I don't know what to do Melissa. My family is the most important thing to me, but I can't shake this feeling that... I-I should stay." Her eyes wandered down to the books that were scattered across her floor and thought about the gods themselves.

"They have all been working hard and I couldn't be more proud of them. I have found better friends in them than I ever had on Earth. I feel like _someone_ important. For the first time in my life, I feel truly appreciated by someone outside of my family. I'm just..." Her voice carried off as she turned to look at the window behind her, gently placing Melissa on the table.

"I know that I probably won't be able to see my family again if I were to agree. The Gods have kept themselves from the limelight of existence to humans and managed to keep themselves as myths. I doubt they would be willing to bend the rules for a single human. I wouldn't let them risk something like that for me." She sighed and shook her head and looked down at Melissa. "Be honest with me Melissa, how would I be treated if I were to live with them?"

Melissa cocked his head to the side thinking. "Kutanagi, I honestly couldn't tell you. At least, not with any sort of certainty. In the past, Gods have always been jealous of humanity for one reason or another. You may be seen as an outcast, but you may also be seen as someone special enough to be brought to the realm of the Gods. To earn such a place is something that they don't take lightly. The fact that you are being offered such a thing by the king of the gods himself shows that you have earned your place."

She nodded before standing up and walking to the door. "Thanks, Melissa. I'm going to go out for a walk. I don't know when I will be back so don't worry if I don't get back before dark."

With that, she opened the door and shut it behind her without looking back at the doll sitting hopelessly at her.

-x-

Apollon and Dionysus were sitting in the library trying to figure out what they were going to do about Yui. Apollon had informed his brother of her importance and asked him to think of a way to convince her. Both were hunched over books searching for _something, anything_ that could help them without raising suspicion.

A loud boom echoed through the chamber alerting the brothers to Thoth's entrance. The Egyptian God immediately stopped and eyed them. "What are you two idiots doing here?"

"We were looking for something to make Fairy-san that she is worth living with us." Apollon nervously stated.

Thoth nodded and made his way over to his desk opening up his book. "Do as you will. Just stay quiet."

The brothers nodded and returned to their reading.

A few hours and a hundred books later Dionysus stood with a defeated sigh. Finally, he walked over to Thoth and waited patiently to be acknowledged. He was smart enough to know that you didn't interrupt the God of Knowledge when he was reading and it was best to wait. Thoth eyed him suspiciously from behind his book before sighing and placing it down.

"What do you want?"

"I apologize Thoth-san but I was wondering if I could seek out your knowledge of human culture."

The elder God leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Go ahead."

Dionysus nodded and looked back at his brother who was looking at him curiously. Turning back to the indifferent librarian, he decided what he needed to ask. "Are there any celebrations within the region that Kusanagi-san is from that would allow us to celebrate her?"

He quirked a silver eyebrow and raised his head slightly. "Why would you want to know that?"

Dionysus shifted uncomfortably from the gaze that Thoth was giving. "W-well... I thought maybe we could show her that she is worth it the human way since that is what she understands. If we were to do anything that was from the Gods she wouldn't fully understand the significance"

Thoth cocked his head and pondered for a moment before he leaned forward. Resting his chin on the back of his hands, he eyed the sun god staring at him in the background. "There is _one_ particular celebration that you could use. Tell me, sons of Zeus, what do you know about the annual aging ceremony known as 'birthdays?'"


	17. Chapter 17

The gods were up to something, that was for sure.

Yui groaned and laid her head down on her desk. Throughout the class, the Gods looked like they were about to jump out of their seats in anticipation; all the while they kept sneaking glances over when they thought she wasn't looking. They were excited about _something,_ and she was nervous about what that would entail. For the past few days, they have all been seeming to go off on their own and making weird excuses. Saying something like Thoth or Zeus needed something or they had an assignment to do that they wanted to do "themselves". She hadn't seen them act like this since the utter disaster that they called a performance of

She was already stressed out about the conversation that she had with Zeus in her dorm the other day; she didn't know if she would be able to handle any more stress.

Her internal battle was interrupted by a familiar voice. "Kusanagi!"

Cheeks painted with red, she looked up nervously at Thoth who was staring down at her with an eyebrow raised. "Class has been over for twenty minutes, what are you still doing here?"

Yui blinked her surprise at his slightly gentler than normal tone. Her eyes widened as a thought entered her mind; _Is Thoth planning something with the Gods!_ She groaned and buried her face in her hands. What the hell has gotten into everyone? Thoth _never_ talks gently, Zeus has _never_ come to her room to talk, and the Gods _never_ acted jumpy without her knowing the reason behind it. _Get it together Yui! You are just over-analyzing everything._

Gentle pressure on her shoulder snapped her out of the prison she placed her face in. Her jaw dropped at what she saw.

Thoth was crouched on the floor looking at her with gentle concern. His jeweled hand was on her shoulder. He seemed to be searching her face for whatever bothered her. "T-Thoth-sama? What are you doing?" Yui let out shakily. Whoever this was it wasn't the Egyptian God Knowledge. His responding smile made her choke.

"I'm making sure that you are okay Kusanagi, you are my fellow teacher after all. Am I not allowed to be concerned for someone who is both my colleague and my student?" He raised his eyebrow and smirked at her shocked expression.

"I-I guess so, i-it's just you're..." Yui swallowed down the lump in her throat to continue with the sentence. "You're being _... nice._ "

Thoth furrowed his eyebrows and let his hand slide off of her shoulder. He bowed his head allowing his silver bangs to eclipse his eyes. He let out a long-drawn sigh, making Yui feeling even more nervous than she was before. "Kusanagi, I know that in the past I've been... harsh when it comes to... speaking to you. I apologize if I offended you in any way or made you feel like you weren't important. This school _needs_ you, and I haven't been showing you the respect that I should have been from the beginning." He raised his head, showing the sparkle that the sincerity in his eyes was giving off. "Zeus has told me about the offer that was made to you. I can only imagine what it's like for you to have to choose. I'm sorry to tell you this Kusanagi, but it's one or the other; you can't have both. With the Gods, you will live forever. You will never be alone with the other Gods around. I may not always be the most... sympathetic being, but I know that there are times when it's necessary. I may be cold Yui-san, but I am not heartless."

Thoth stood up and walked out the door without looking back at the dumbfounded Yui.

The human female left alone within the solitude of a classroom was so dumbfounded her thoughts were stuttering. _H...h..h...he... said my... n...name._ She shook her head, stuffing her books carelessly into her backpack before sprinting out of the classroom.

* * *

"Is everything ready Thoth?" Zeus asked when he heard the doors of his throne room open.

"Yes Zeus, we should have our answer within the next few days."

The Greek God nodded his head, signaling his old friend to leave. He sighed and clutched his staff tightly. "I hope this works. Otherwise, we are doomed."

 _Sorry about the delay. I lost my notes for this story and didn't find them until yesterday. I'll try to keep this updated as often as I can without ruining the story in my eyes. I do want to finish this and I am determined to do so._

 _Please keeps those comments coming, I read every one and I consider any suggestions._

 _-Raedaline_

 _P.S. How do you feel about Thoth's sudden change?_


	18. Update

_Hey guys! Sorry I haven't touched any of my stories in a while. I rescued a dog and it has been a challenging couple of months while I help her get acclimated to a normal and peaceful life. I have not given up on this story. I have a few more ideas before we get to the climax of the story which I think you guys will love. I still have my notebook, I just need to sit down once I feel like writing the next chapter. I went back and edited every chapter up to this point and even added a thing or two for clarity. As always, suggestions are always welcome!_

 _-Raedaline_


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